This Mess We're In
by SomeDivineAshtray
Summary: AU set in between season 7 and 8. The balcony scene did happen, and Niles declared his love for Daphne, but she didn't have a change of heart and still went on to marry Donny. What will happen when they meet each other in unfamiliar surroundings?
1. Chapter 1

A/n: This is my first Frasier fic, and I'm afraid it's going to be a big one so please comment to keep me going :) This story is AU set in between season 7 and 8. The balcony scene did happen, and Niles declared his love for Daphne, but she didn't have a change of heart and still went on to marry Donny.

The story is partly based on the song "This Mess We're In" by PJ Harvey and Thom Yorke, as well as some other passages from songs of PJ Harvey's "Stories of the City, Stories of the Sea" album. It's mostly set in NYC. I don't own anything and there will be some references to sex and violence in this story, so kids, don't read it!

**Prologue**

I should have seen in coming. Ever since my brother came back from his honeymoon, he's been acting strangely. Oh hell, he had been acting strangely before that. I can't say I was waiting for this to happen, but it didn't surprise me either.

One summer evening, around 11 am, there was a knock on my door. Or, well, a banging. I have yet to get used to opening my own door, but this ear-penetrating noise got me up in a minute.

There was my brother, his suit creased, tie loosened and smelling terribly of alcohol. He was leaning against the doorstep as if he where ready to faint.

"Hey Niles, what's up?"

He slumped into the living room and sat down on the couch

"Well, I'm terrific" and then, after a pause: "Mel and I have separated"

Martin, who had been quiet all this time, looks up and says "oh I'm sorry son" not sounding very surprised

Frasier continues: "Oh dear, Niles are you OK? When did this happen?"

"Just this morning, actually. We had a bit of a conflict after getting up... and she decided it'd be best if we took some time to think about our relationship... some time apart.. so, I'm back. Alone."

"Oh dear.. well, could you tell me how this happened.. what was this fight all about?"

"Well, I'm afraid I'm not quite drunk enough to get into details" (Frasier frowns) "but basically she thinks I'm gay"

His father and brother look at him in awe and Martin bursts into laughter "No, not this again! I mean it's not a big leap to think about it (Frasier and Niles look at their father angrily) but why did she come up with it just now?"

"Well..(sighs) this is embarrassing... she believes that I'm not able to please her.. sexually"

"and how...erm I mean why would she think...I mean, how could you.. what might have caused... I mean, are you..." Frasier attempts but at that moment, they hear the sound of the door unlocking. The door swings open and Daphne enters the room.

"Hi all, Donny had a late meeting with a client so I figured I'd come over to get some of me things; Donny and I are going on a trip next week; and see how you guys are (notices Niles) doing..."

(Niles stands up) "Good evening Daphne"

"Good evening Dr Crane (fumbles at her skirt) I didn't see you there until just now. How are you doing? I've missed..(face turns red and she looks at the floor) erm... how are you and Mel?"

"Not so good, I'm afraid. We had a big fight this morning and we have decided to separate"

"Oh dear... I didn't mean to... I mean...how did this happen?"

"I'm afraid It's too inappropriate and embarrassing do discuss that just now... do you mind if I'd save you that treat for later?"

"Fine, Dr Crane...well, I'd better get my things and get going"

"What?" Martin replies "I thought you came over to catch up and have a drink with us..you leaving already?"

"I'm afraid so. I mean, look at the time.. how silly of me to come over at this hour...I'm very sorry and I'll just be a minute"

Clearly in a hurry, she runs to her former bedroom and within the 5 minute mark, she's back out again, saying her goodbyes very hastily and running towards the door.

"Very nice to see you again, Dr Crane" she remarked at Niles, before storming out the door and slamming it behind her.

"Jeez, what was that all about?" Martin remarked. Niles was already on his way to the liquor cabinet. He poors himself a gigantic drink, chugs it back in one gulp, then poors another one before stumbling to the couch and bursting out in tears.

"Oh my god, what am I supposed to do? Every time I see her.. I...and now, the only hope I had on a tiny piece of happiness has left me, and it's all my fault. I neglected Mel, I neglected her for a month. I've been cheating on her in my dreams and I didn't care about her, I didn't care what she was thinking at all! I'm a terrible, terrible person!"

"Oh Jeez" says Martin. "Well, maybe this is the time you should tell us the whole story" Frasier added.

"Oh, I might as well. Even though it's totally embarrassing and awkward to discuss in front of my family. After Daphne's wedding, I was gutted, obviously. But Venice took my mind of things a bit. That is, up until the 5th day or something, when I started having these dreams... I dreamt that I was in bed with Mel...we where making love and she was... well... sitting on top of me..."

Martin: "oh jeez!"

"...and staring up, I could see Daphne staring at us from next to the bed, crying...I'd wake up screaming "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" and Mel, who woke up from my screaming, acted like there was nothing going on...

Later that same day, we where in bed, making love..."

Martin: "that's it. I'm gonna grab a beer."

"... and I was reminded of that dream... I just, god this is awkward.. and I felt completely miserable. I started sobbing and crying uncontrollably...while I was still inside her! I mean... I was absolutely mortified, so I've been trying to avoid getting close to Mel ever since. I even resolved in eating a seafood buffet that I knew had gone bad... and well, when you spent 3 days on the toilet with a bucket on your lap hurling your guts out in a bathroom in Venice with a golden sink, just to avoid having sex with your wife, you know you've hit rock bottom...

Frasier: "thanks for the mental Image Niles..

"The dreams didn't stop though. It was the same dream over and over again...Mel started noticing me being distant, I ignored all her advances and stayed up late so we wouldn't have to go to bed together. Then one night, last night, my dream had evolved... I was standing on the balcony with Daphne, just like on the night I had told her I loved her. But this time, she didn't back away and run back into Donny's arms... she took my hand and led me back to the bedroom, which, remarkably, was completely empty. She threw my arms around her and started kissing me very passionately. I pushed my body up against hers and we fell down on one of the beds.. it was so vivid, I could feel everything. I felt how she kissed my neck, unbuttoned my shirt..I could feel every curve of her body, her skin on my skin, my... Ok no need to tell so much details. It was the best dream I had ever had...

And then I woke up... and Mel was staring at me...looking very amorous. Apparently, the noises I was making in my dream had woken her up, and she had noticed I was, erm, well... In a certain condition and she was trying to take advantage of that. Instead of going with it, I yelped and jumped up to take a cold shower. When I came out of there, It all came gushing out: How she noticed I was neglecting her, that I showed no sexual desire towards her whatsoever, that I was too feminine to begin with and she could make only one conclusion: that I was gay and that our marriage was only a cover-up to keep my good name. I told her I wasn't, that there was a reasonable explanation for all this. But then I realized that to explain this, I had to tell her about my feelings for Daphne. Which in my eyes, was worse than her thinking I'm gay. So I chocked. And she kicked me out..."

"And what are you going to do about this situation?" Frasier questioned.

"Well, I have to sober up I guess... and then I'm going to think this whole thing trough..."

"That's fine, Niles. Now, you can stay here for the night and we'll discuss this whole thing once you've sobered up. Thanks for sharing this story. I hope I can help you in getting a positive outcome..."

The next morning, Martin, Frasier and Niles are sitting at the breakfast table, with Niles looking very hung over. He is avoiding discussing Mel and Daphne, instead he is talking to Frasier about his latest case studies.

"Once again, psychiatry has been the saving grace of my life. I recently started a research about romantic relationships of people with autism. It's absolutely fascinating. You know, a lot of autistic people don't experience love and relationships the way we do. They don't see the point or they simply don't know how to approach or communicate with people, let alone of the opposite sex...The thing is, sometimes people with autism do fall in love and manage to maintain a stable relationship... and that's only where the fascinating bit starts, since these people don't have the social skills of regular people there are a lot of bumps in the road but still...it's possible!"

"Fascinating Niles! How did you come up with the idea of researching autistic people?"

"Well, I am trying to treat some of my OCD's and during my research I found out there where some overlaps with disorders in the autistic spectrum, since these people very often have OCD's... however, the source is completely different. But it got me interested! I'm publishing a paper of my studies this week and next week, they have invited me to be a guest lecturer at the Columbia University of New York, followed by a congress that weekend!"

"That's amazing Niles!"

(Martin, who has not been listening suddenly looking up from his paper) "Oh look! Mel is claiming that you're gay in the society pages too now!"

(Niles rolls his eyes) "Well, whatever. I'm off to work and then I'm gonna go pack!"


	2. Chapter 2

Niles is walking around in Greenwich Village. He has just finished his lecture and was very satisfied with the result. Most students had reacted very interested at his research and the questions that where posed afterwards triggered enough thoughts in him to write a new paper. It was a lovely, balmy wednesday afternoon in the city. He loved the new surroundings, to be out of Seattle for a week, away from his misery. He had been focussed on his lecture all week, but not enough not to notice that Mel was making meatloaf out of his reputation by calling him all sorts of things to her snooty society friends and even telling the media that he was the worst lover she had ever had. He was mortified. He knew that it was a lie, but he just didn't want certain people to think of him that way...

He was contemplating what to do for the evening and the next couple of days. He was free to go where he wanted until saturday, and he couldn't decide which museums he wanted to attend most. He had been to New York before, but every time he was there, there would be new collections he hadn't seen, new concerts to attend, new parties to show his face at... It was a lot to take in. He'd figured he'd just take it slow and go on the museum tour.

At that point, he saw two familiar figures walking towards him, one rather small and stout, the other tall and graceful... It couldn't be...

"Hey Doc!" sounds the familiar voice of Donny through the streets of The Village. "What are you doing here?"

Oh dear, of all the people he had to run in to in New York City, it had to be Donny and Daphne...He explained to them why he was here, and Donny told him that he was visiting some clients here but that Daphne had insisted on taking her along since she had never been to New York before.

"So, what are you doing tonight, doc?" Donny asked. He hadn't finished that trail of thoughts yet, so he couldn't come up with an acceptable answer in time. Donny continues:"I'm booked pretty much all through the week, but I'm free tonight and we are going to this new restaurant on the upper east side.. would you like to join us?"

He glances at Daphne. For a couple of seconds their gaze is locked, and he feels drawn to the gorgeous eyes that are staring at him. Then suddenly, Daphne looked down and says, quickly: "We would love it if you'd join us Dr Crane"

"urm.. well, I suppose I could..I could.. sure, that sounds lovely" he says.

He looks at Daphne again, but she's still looking at the floor, smiling faintly. He can feel his cheeks flush.

They arranged their meeting for that night and went their separate ways.

On his way back to the hotel, Niles couldn't stop thinking about Daphne. The dreams hadn't stopped since he had separated with Mel. In fact, the dream that he had about Daphne the morning Mel had kicked him out became recurring. Each of them where extremely vivid. He couldn't believe the things he had felt...how he could feel every fiber of her body pushed against his, her hands touching him all over... he had often wished he could sleep all day and live this delicious fantasy over and over again. He usually woke up bathing in sweat, aroused and frustrated, his lips still hot and tingling as if he where actually just kissing her a moment ago... He often broke down in tears and had to cool himself off with a cool shower.

He shouldn't think of her that way, he thought. Everything reminded him of her and of how much he wanted her. Looking at love scenes in movies made him deeply uncomfortable, because he knew that if he would let his mind wander, he'd think about her again.

They had barely seen each other in 2 months. Ever since that night on the balcony, they had been avoiding each other. And every time they did meet, it was by accident and they where both visibly uncomfortable and they barely ever talked. Maybe this night would be good. A chance to put this awkwardness behind us, and catch up with an old friend. God, he missed her, but he couldn't bare to see her on the arm of another man. He was dreading that part of the evening...

Niles got dressed in his hotel room and took a cab over to the upper east side. The restaurant where he was supposed to meet Daphne and Donny was very stylish: clearly very new and hip, but with a classic touch to it. When he entered the building, they where already there. They waved him over, but Donny was clearly agitated about something. Niles greeted them, sat at the table and asked him what was going on.

"Oh it's this client. I knew he'd been hiding something... His wife claims he was having an affair, but he denied it.. something was wrong though. So now he calls me, says his wife's lawyers have gotten into his email account and it turns out, he's been having all these fantasies about this mystery woman that he emailed to her... and no, they where not about drinking coffee or feeding ducks! So anyway, he wants to meet me immediately to discuss what our next action should be... so yes, I have to go. I'm so sorry I can't stay but hey, you two are good friends so I'm sure you'll have a great time"

Niles looks away when Donny kisses Daphne goodbye. He starts to panic. What would he do? What should he say to her? They where alone... together... oh god...

Then suddenly, she speaks, hesitant, but confident none the less: "Look Dr Crane, I know things are a bit awkward between us right now, but I miss you like crazy. You are such a good friend to me and I'm a girl alone in New York City and I need a guide.. So, let's say we have dinner and afterwards we go cruising around town, and have ourselves a great, long night out?"

"That sounds wonderful" he replied, and they gazed into each others eyes once more.

Little did they know it was going to be a very, very long night...


	3. Chapter 3

Niles was still feeling kind of uncomfortable, but he was happy that she was looking forward to spending some time with him. During dinner, they discussed the usual uncomfortable topics: if she was enjoying living with Donny, to which he received a not very convincing "Yes, of course.." Well, it was obvious that she had mixed feelings about moving. After all, she had lived with his father and brother for 7 years... but then again, that could also be the exact reason why she could be enjoying it. When she brought up the topic of Mel and their separation, he still couldn't bring himself to telling her the whole story, or even half of it for that matter. He couldn't figure out how to work around the very large part that involved her... oh well, all friends have secrets for each other, right?

After dinner they started planning out their evening. There was so much to see, so much to do... Daphne wanted to go to a bar and have some drinks, but that was just the kind of thing Niles didn't know much about. He suggested a short walk through Central Park, since it was near the restaurant and afterwards they could pop into any bar they passed by and looked nice enough and plan their evening from there. Niles had ordered a bottle of red wine which was only half-finished. He embarrassingly asked the waiter for a paper bag so they could take it with them. It would be a nice treat for in the park, he figured.

It was a beautiful night in the city. The air was still hot from the day and all the flowers that where blooming gave the air a wonderful smell. It was so surreal to find such a haven of peace in the middle of the hectic city life. They walked next to each other, silent for a very long time, taking in the surroundings and smelling the air. They where still feeling a little awkward, but the atmosphere and the wine was slowly washing those feelings away. Niles offered Daphne some wine.

"I'd love some, thank you" She takes the bottle from him and takes a sip. "You know, this reminds me a lot of me time at home in Manchester... sipping wine from the bottle in a park with a boy... I feel like a teenage girl again.. you know, the rebellious feeling you got when you got drunk together, your parents not knowing where you are, the endless strolls in the park because there was nothing else to do, the anticipation of what might happen...oh, erm...well.."

He glanced at her. "No, I really don't. I used to get beaten up by boys who hung around in parks with liquor. I didn't actually drink in public until I reached the legal age to do so... But I love hearing you tell about it... and if it helps, this bottle of wine is quite expensive."

"Yes actually that does help. I get sick to the stomach just thinking about the stuff we would drink back then. I think it technically wasn't even wine... you know, there was this stuff called Buckfast, some kind of scottish brew I believe...My father always kept a bottle in the liquor cabinet. It was brewed by monks and sort of a mixture of wine and cough syrup. Me dad would bring his buddies from the pub back home and me mum would join them and they would drink and drink...it kept them going all night and it would be the ideal time for me and me brothers to sneak out and do all sorts of fun teenage stuff... I remember they once stole a bottle of the stuff. I couldn't stand the taste of it, but it did keep me going all night. I don't quite remember the things that went on that night, but I do recall waking up the next morning in me nickers with a bucket next to my bed..."

Niles didn't say anything back, He just looked at her in awe. He missed listening to her stories in the last 2 months or so... And how beautiful she looked in the moonlight...her blue dress was hanging loosely draped around her figure and he loved the glistening in her eyes when she was telling these stories. They both looked around and took up the surroundings once more. Niles took another sip of the wine and passed it on to Daphne. If they would keep going at this rate, the bottle would be finished in 5 minutes.

"Dr Crane, can I hold your hand?" Daphne asked suddenly

Niles looked at her, shocked. "erm.. well, of course you can Daphne"

She softly took his hand, let her fingers touch it for a second and then took his hand into hers. A warm, tingling feeling went through him and he exhaled deeply. They glanced briefly at each other and she smiled at him. They went on, walking around in silence through Central Park until the bottle was finished.

"Well, I suppose we better go find that bar, Dr Crane" Daphne said.

They found an exit and started walking downtown. They passed all kinds of bars, but none of them seemed satisfactory.

"Well, this one seems nice enough" Daphne said when they stopped in front of another bar. "It has a friendly, colorful feel to it and I like that rainbow flag over there..."

They Entered the bar, which had a lot of tacky disco lighting and a lounge area. They went straight to the bar, which was covered in red velvet. Niles was not sure wether he would like it in here, the music was very loud and thumping.

"You go on and pick any drink you want" He yelled at Daphne. She went on a Cosmopolitan because "that's what New Yorkers drink, right?" She had commented. He leaned over the counter and looked around.

Suddenly, he received a tap on the shoulder from one of the bartenders. When he turned around, the bartender put some tacky looking drink, sort of green-ish with a straw and a little umbrella in his direction. "The gentleman in the corner over there is offering you this drink" He yelled. Niles looked at the corner of the bar and observed the gentleman, pulling a strange face. He was wearing a tight shirt and had short black hair. He then turned back to Daphne.

"Look what this guy gave me. Look at this. It even has a little umbrella. What is this some kind of mix-up? And why do all these men on the dance floor seem to be staring at me?"

Daphne pulled a face as if she had a certain revelation. She turned to the bartender and seemed to be asking something. A few seconds later, she turned back to Niles and told him:

"Well, Dr. Crane, it seems we are finding ourselves stranded at a gay bar..."

"Oh dear.. well, that certainly explains a lot... I'd have to say it's typical though. Mel would have loved this"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I suppose this is as good as any time to tell you about this. Mel left me because she thought I might be gay"

Daphne burst into nervous laughter. "Excuse me, she what?"

Niles chuckled "You heard me..."

"Well, is it... do you believe it's...She's wrong right?" She asked, suddenly feeling a surge of disappointment.

"What sort of silly question is that? Of course she's wrong. Not only that, I think she is only saying it to make me look bad, for marrying her for the wrong reasons..."

She couldn't help but feel relieved by this comment, even though she had known from the start that Mel was wrong. Very wrong. For him. "That's terrible Dr. Crane." she said and after a pause: "But I couldn't help but wonder, why would she come up with such a thing?"

"Well..." Niles blushed and looked away. "That is kind of difficult for me to say.."... he looked up, then noticed something and suddenly changed his tone to a faster pace. "We can talk about it later though, right now that guy from the bar is coming up to me!" He said in horror.

"Don't worry Dr Crane, I'll scare him off..."

Suddenly, she draped his arms around him and brought him closer to her. He was stunned by this sudden action. She stroked his hair and whispered in his ear: " This will scare him away for sure" Niles was speechless. He thought he was going to faint, feeling her body so close to his.

The man came up to him "Hey handsome, how did you like your drink?" he asked. Niles just stared at him

Daphne turned to the man and said "Look, as you might have noticed, he's with me. And believe me, you don't want to know what happens if you keep drooling over him like that, so why don't you just beat it."

The man turned to Niles once more "Why is your hag being so possessive?"

Niles was still not saying anything back. "hey, wait a minute!" The man said suddenly "You're from Seattle right? So am I! I thought you looked familiar... You're brother is on the radio, right? Yes, I've seen you two hang out at Nervosa... Well, it's good to know that you have a preference for boys like me, I've always had a bit of a thing for you..."

At that point Daphne took Niles' hand. "This is taking too long. We're leaving. And before the man could say anything more, they where out the door and wandering the streets of New York again.

They walked around for hours hopping from bar to bar. Time was flying by and before they knew they found themselves walking down Broadway at 3 in the morning, hand in hand and heavily intoxicated. They where both having the time of their lives and Niles suggested they'd walk to the Empire State Building and go on the observation deck, where you could look all over the city. However, when they got there they found out it was closed for the night. Disappointed, they contemplated what to do next, because both of them didn't want the evening to end yet.


	4. Chapter 4

Daphne was confused. She had been confused since last december, when she had found out that Dr Crane had been in love with her for over 6 years, especially since all the pieces about his strange behavior towards her suddenly seemed to fit. When she found out she loved him back things became very clear to her, just to become even more confusing a minute later. What was she supposed to do? Leave her fiance for her best friend? And for what? For love? Would she and Niles be any good as a couple? Would their meaningful friendship survive if their relationship would fail? She had so many questions and so little time... and so she panicked, she couldn't decide wether she wanted to risk a meaningful relationship, no, two meaningful relationships, so she did what was expected of her: She married Donny.

For 2 months, she managed to ignore her feelings for Niles once more. By not seeing him at all. And it worked, in a way. The feeling of total and utter confusion slowly subsided. But oh, how she missed him...the talks they used to have, his attentiveness, his smile...

And now here they where, walking the streets of New York City hand in hand, laughing, talking... The alcohol was slowly washing away her abstention to getting close to him. They had been having a wonderful time together and she knew that she had been behaving inappropriately on several occasions. It was terribly forward of her to hold him like she did in the bar, even if she had had a good reason to do so.. And by holding his hand all night like they where a couple, even though she knew how he felt about her... Even though they never really talked about what happened that night on the balcony, how they should continue their friendship now that they where both spoken for... It must be driving him crazy...

… Oh, who was she kidding? It was driving HER crazy. She loved spending time with him, being close to him...She liked stealing glances at him, his boyish features, his cute smile and the twinkle in his gorgeous eyes... Why was their situation so ridiculously complex? The truth was, she was married. Practically, he was still married too. And she was completely in love with him. She had been stealing glances at him all evening, and she knew he had noticed it. And she was caring less and less about the consequences.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Niles suddenly asked, awaking her from her trail of thoughts. "Should we look for another big building to look out on the city?"

"Well, that's not such a bad idea, Dr Crane.. why don't we take the tube and go look for one?"

"The tube? You mean the New York Subway? Are you crazy? Those stations are swarming with rats and bugs and all sorts of vermin. People aren't moles, so we shouldn't act like them and travel underground.. and you know how many people hold those poles on the subway? Do you know how many germs are on there?"

She couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "I think it's kind of nice to travel underground...You go through this network of tunnels on a train and then suddenly, poof! You are somewhere else... I love being surprised like that. And you know, there are actual moles in the empty tunnels of the New York subway... I saw a documentary about it once. They are basically homeless people who have made the tunnels their home. They have gotten used to the darkness and barely ever come out... It's strange to think about everyone who's out there..."

He looked shocked. "Well, I feel very sorry for those people. And I don't think you are making a very strong point for the subway here.. why don't I hail a taxi?"

"Why don't YOU shut up and come with me? Daphne won't let anything happen to you" And she dragged him along at his arm into the subway.

She watched him with patience as he dusted off the seats where they planned on sitting at with his handkerchief. Then they sat down in the train.

After a few moments of silence, something happened between them. Niles reached over to grab her hand, but instead of just taking it into his, he just lightly touched the palm of her hand. A few seconds later, he touched it again and he softly brushed his fingertips over her hand. They both gasped at the sensation they felt on their skin. She cough one of his fingers with her index finger, clung to it for a few seconds and then released it again. She turned her hand around, with the inside of her palm now facing upwards. He understood the invitation and slowly traced his thumb along the palm of her hand. They where both looking straight ahead, not daring to look at one another, afraid of what they might see in each others face.

Tension was building as they went on and the soft touches where slowly turning into a tender caress. They where touching each other in anticipation for something to happen. It was a silent promise, saying something WOULD happen if they'd let their guard down. Daphne was feeling a rush of desire towards him and sighed deeply. She was pretty sure he was feeling the same way. His hand felt warm and soft and she couldn't help but think about kissing him, right then and there. She knew he would kiss her back if she would, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead of that, it was now as if they where making love with just their 2 hands. He was smoothly running his fingertips across hers and she felt butterflies as their fingers tangled together and then disentangled again. The tension got unbearable and she licked her lips in anticipation, when the train came to sudden halt. Both of them where still looking straight ahead, when she heard a small voice say:

"I think we need to get off here..."

Reluctantly, they let go of each others hand, got up and got off the train.


	5. Chapter 5

They where both blushing from the event that had just taken place and both of them could hear their hearts pounding in their throats as they got off the subway. What the hell was that?

They exited the station and Daphne was stunned by the sudden change of the surroundings. They where in an old neighborhood, with dark brick houses and everywhere they looked there where old factory buildings, most of them abandoned. She could hear the sound of the river in the distance and see the lights of one of the 5 bridges.

"Well Daphne" Niles said with a shy smile on his face. "welcome to Brooklyn."

"Wow... well, this is exactly why I like traveling on the tube. Everything is suddenly so different! I love these kind of surprises." she replied.

"Well, I have to say... I used to dread riding those trains, but I think I'm starting develop a liking for it" he said, smiling at her.

"Oh, well... I'm glad. All these factories kind of remind me of me home in Manchester. It used to be a big industrial city, you know. But now, most of the factories are are either closed or torn down..."

"Yes, so I've heard. There used to be a lot of industry here too, especially in the first half of the 20th century. I think right now they are looking for new purposes for these buildings, there is never enough space to live in a big city like this and right now, these buildings are just standing here..."

They started walking around the neighborhood for a short while. Daphne glanced at Niles once more. He seemed so relaxed. He was walking around with his hands in his pockets, his tie loosened and his jacked loosely draped over his arm. She could see the morning stubble that was appearing on his chin. He was clearly deep in thought. And god, he looked sexy.

Suddenly she locked her gaze on one of the factory buildings. It was a beautiful old warehouse, standing very near the river, with dark bricks and half-round windows. It was high, at least 10 stories and there was a very large chimney towering over it.

"Dr. Crane.. how about that one?"

"Excuse me... What?"

"We came here to look for a tall building so we could look at the city... how about that one?"

"Well, it sure is a beautiful building.. but how do you suppose we get in? It looks kind of empty and even if there where people living in there, they wouldn't want to open the door at this hour... and if they did, I wouldn't even WANT to go inside anymore..."

"Oh don't be silly! You never broke into an abandoned building before? Me brothers used to do it all the time...Look, I'll show you. Lots of times, there's a fence or window you can climb through"

"I'm not climbing through any window. What if we get caught? What if I get stuck? I mean, even with my swimmers built... and think about the dust!"

"You won't get stuck... now let's see..." Daphne walked around the building a bit. "OK so it seems there's a window we can climb through over there. Or we can take the fire escape.." She said, knowing that Niles was suffering from fear of heights.

"We'll take the window" Niles sighed. "God, what I won't do to be with the woman I love" He thought. "Shall we?"

After Niles finished dusting off the window, they entered the building, landing on the floor in a cloud of dust. Niles inhaled some of it and got stuck in a coughing fit which left his throat sore and his eyes burning. These nightly escapades surely didn't do anything good for his allergies. They stuck closely together, with Niles daring to hold Daphne's hand again as they walked all the flights of stairs. Even though all the dust and the darkness bothered him, he couldn't think of anything more exciting than protecting the woman he loved from the unknown evils of the abandoned warehouse. Daphne felt like a princess. A drunken, messy looking princess, but still, a princess, as Niles guided her up the stairs. After what seemed an eternity, they finally got to the door to the roof, luckily finding it unlocked.

They where presented with an amazing view. The nightly sky was bright and they could see the 5 bridges going over the river and the cars driving across it. Across the river was Manhattan, with its bright lights and skyscrapers. They could see the Empire State Building from across the river and the bright glow that surrounded the city. In the east, they could see the sky turning a lighter shade of blue: The first sign of the sunrise.

Daphne took in the sight in awe. "Well, this looks like the perfect place to end this wonderful evening."

Niles looked at the beautiful surroundings and exhaled loudly. Then suddenly, he realized something and his expression suddenly looked very dejected. Daphne noticed this.

"Dr. Crane... is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing Daphne... It's just that I've been having such a wonderful time with you, and I don't want it to end...I can't stop thinking about the fact that when we leave, you'll be going back to Donny and I'm going back to the bitter mess that used to be my marriage to Mel and I just don't know when I'll see you again.. In case you haven't noticed, we have barely seen each other since your wedding and I can't stand the idea of having to miss you for another 2 months..."

Daphne sighed. Having to go back to Donny after this night was the last thing on her mind, but she knew he was right. "Well, we'll both be here for another couple of days, so we can meet up tomorrow for coffee or something. I mean, Donny is busy with his clients all the time anyway, so why not spend some quality time with my best friend?"

"You mean it? That'd be great...we can go and take the Staten Island ferry and..." he paused "But still, what if this week is over, and we both go back to Seattle... I can't stand the thought of having to see Mel again, and to have half of the population of Seattle stare at you in the street. I mean, you don't want to know what she has been saying about me..."

Daphne looked at him. "Actually, I do know, Dr. Crane..."

Niles gasped in horror and looked up in her in shock "What?"

"I do know. I read that paper too, you know. I didn't tell you because I knew you would be mortified if you knew I knew. I mean, I sure wouldn't want any of my, erm... friends to find out I'm a bad lover"

Niles looked at her in utter shock and horror. "Excuse me? You didn't... I mean, I'm not... she's...I'm..."

"Relax Dr. Crane. Don't worry. I also know that she's lying."

"You do?"

"Of course. Because if you make love to a woman anything like the way you kiss, you would be utterly amazing. I'm pretty sure you are a wonderful lover, because you kiss like a prince."

With that, she blushed and looked away.

"I do?" He asked, his heart skipping a beat.

"Why, yes Dr. Crane... I still think about it a lot..." She answered, her heart pounding in her throat and taking a step towards him. "I thought it was amazing..."

He also took a step towards her. Behind him, the sky was slowly turning red and the sun came up behind the city. "I thought so too...I think about you all the time...I can't help but wonder, what would have happened if we... if you wouldn't have left..." He took another step, his heart pounding like crazy. They where now standing right in front of each other.

"I do too... I've never been so confused in me life...The way you make me feel, I...I think I..." she stopped, looking into his eyes. His gorgeous, penetrating blue eyes.

He slowly brought his hand to her face and let it brush through her hair. Their gazes where both locked into each others eyes. She took another small step towards him. She could smell his wonderful scent, his freshly washed hair mixed with fresh, masculine sweat. They could smell the alcohol on each others breath. "I know you do..." He whispered into her ear. He felt intoxicated by the warmth of her body, so close to him. She brought one of her hands up to his cheek, softly stroking it. He licked his lips and she found herself drawn to them. Once again she was overcome by a surge of desire. She loved him, she wanted him...

"Niles..." she whispered. He swallowed, knowing he was no longer able to fight the temptation. How he loved hearing her say his name...How he loved her, how he wanted her..."I adore you Daphne" he whispered back. Slowly they felt their heads moving toward each other. He softly put his other hand on her back, pulling her even closer toward him and lowered his lips onto hers.

When their lips touched, they both felt a jolt of electricity go through their bodies. His lips felt hot and soft. They kissed each other very gently, and she slowly moved her hand into his hair and started caressing the back of his neck. He moaned in pleasure and pulled her even closer toward him and started caressing her back. She sighed with delight and deepened the kiss. Her hand was snaking up his back and she opened her mouth, licking his lips and slowly letting their tongues intertwine. They could feel their touches become wilder as their passion was mounting.

For a long time, they just stood there on top of the building, in the light of the rising sun, kissing and caressing each other. They couldn't get enough of the wonderful sensation of their lips molding together and their hands caressing each other.

When the kiss broke, they where both breathless, sighing and panting.

"Oh Niles..." she sighed

"Oh Daphne" he answered

They gazed into each others eyes for what seemed like an eternity. "So, what do we do now?" He asked

"I don't know..." she answered

"Daphne I... I think about you all the time...you make me feel alive, I...please, stay with me"

"I want to... but you know I can't.."

"Yes, I do." He answered, sounding slightly disappointed. "Maybe we should leave then, before things get out of hand..."

"Maybe..."

She looked in his eyes once more, but suddenly became aware of the situation. Of the fact that she was about to confess her love to Niles while Donny was waiting for her at the hotel.

"You can stay if you want to..I'll go." She said to him, releasing her arms from him, turning around and heading for the stairs.

"Please Daphne, wait!" He yelled as she ran down the stairs. He started following her "I'm sorry OK? I overstepped my boundaries... please don't leave!"

"I'm sorry Ni...Dr. Crane. I have to go. Donny's waiting for me and he's probably wondering where we are." She said back, nervously and breathless. "The time.. oh, look at the time.. It's almost dawn already... silly me, staying up this late, what was I thinking?"

She was clearly panicking. They reached the window and she started climbing to it. Niles was clearly having more difficulty climbing through the window and when he exited the building, she was already halfway across the street. Niles started running after her.

"Daphne, please wait up! Don't go walking these streets alone at this hour, please!" he yelled, breathless. Slowly, he caught up with her.

"Come on, let us at least talk about what just happened."

"I don't think that would be a very good idea, Dr. Crane. We've both been drinking and I'm afraid I might tell you that...something I might regret, OK? Let's just call it a night and meet up in the morning. Then we can talk about it alright?"

"Well" He panted "I suppose so...but.. I do.. I mean, I didn't want to take advantage of you, OK? That was the furthest from my mind."

"Of course, I wasn't thinking that you where... these things happen... we're close friends, we've been drinking, it's late and, well..."

"Was that really all it meant to you?" He asked, sounding disappointed

"No..." She answered. for the first time since she started running they where looking each other in the eye, and Niles could se that she was being sincere.

However, while they had been running they hadn't noticed that they had moved quite a few blocks from the old warehouse, zig-zagging through the streets. Unbeknownst of them, they found themselves in a pretty bad neighborhood at 5 in the morning...

"Look, we shouldn't..." she started turning around again. Niles wanted to go after her, when suddenly he heard a voice behind him:

"Why don't you leave that woman alone?" The voice said.

Niles turned around. Out of one of the alleys came a burly, tough looking man dressed in torn jeans and a dirty white vest. "Excuse me?" Niles answered.

"Why don't you leave her alone? She obviously doesn't want you!" Niles looked both offended by the rudeness of this man and intimidated by his ruggedness. "And while you're at it..." the man continued...

Suddenly, he reached behind behind his back and pulled a handgun from his pants. "Why don't you hand me your wallet?"

"What?" Niles asked, shocked. Daphne was standing behind him, not daring to say anything.

"It's not very smart to walk to walk these streets at this hour, dressed like THAT! You're an easy target for a poor fellow like me...So..." he pointed the gun at Niles. "Hand me your wallet, and whatever else is in your pockets!"

Niles, intimidated now, handed the robber his wallet and cell phone. Just as he was offering up to walk over to Daphne, they heard a siren and blue police lights came flashing around the corner.

"Here, hold this for me, will you?" And the robber pushed the gun into Niles' hands. Before he could say anything, the man ran away, and the police car had pulled over. Two men came rushing out of the car.

Niles was glued to the floor when he heard one of them yell at him:

"Sir! Drop the weapon sir!"


	6. Chapter 6

"WHAT?"

" I said drop the weapon sir, or I'm afraid that we have to take it from you by force"

"Excuse me sir," Daphne interrupted. "But I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding.. You see, he's..."

"Please, ma'am, stand back if you will, this guy could be dangerous!"

"Does a stuffy drunken psychiatrist in a creased Armani suit LOOK dangerous to you?" Niles deadpanned.

"This is no time for jokes sir, and DROP THE GUN, or we'll have to shoot you!"

Niles dropped the gun on the floor. "Good. Now put your hands behind your head and move slowly towards the car!"

"You've GOT to be kidding me." Niles sighed

"Afraid not, sir, but if you keep resisting like that we're going to have to put that in your report too..."

Niles reluctantly obeyed and the police men locked him in the back of the car.

The officers now addressed Daphne, who was looking both confused and angry. "Are you OK ma'am? Did this man hurt you in any way?"

"Well actually, he did but it's all my own fault really..." She deadpanned.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, never mind. You clearly have no sense of humor." She sighed. "Look, this has been a misunderstanding OK? He's really not my attacker..."

"Well, we'll take you to the station for questioning if you don't mind. You can explain exactly what happened when we're there.."

"Fine." she answered angrily. "But can I at least sit in the back seat with him?"

"What the... why would you want to sit in the back seat with your attacker? What kind of sick game is this?"

"HE'S NOT MY ATTACKER! Now let me into the car!"

The police men seemed intimidated by her tone, looked at each other very confusedly and let her in the back seat with Niles. She was just in time, because the panic in Niles' eyes started to mount and within seconds, he was in full hyperventilation mode. Daphne quickly grabbed his head and put it between his legs, like she had seen Frasier do so many times.

"Relax, Dr. Crane. Just breathe (Niles gasps) That's it, keep breathing, you're going to be fine..."

"Oh my god, they are arresting me, they are putting me in jail! I am going to me some big hairy tattooed guy's sex slave in prison! Oh my god.. what if Mel finds out about this? She's going to ruin me!"

"You're not going to be anyone's sex slave and she won't find out. You'll be fine."

"Fine? Guys like me won't be "fine" when they go to prison! Look at me, I couldn't even get through a single day of prep school without receiving at least one or two wedgies, imagine what they will do to me in PRISON!"

"You won't go to prison! I will explain everything once we get to the station and you are innocent! You are the one these two knuckleheads should be helping so why don't you just relax for a second?"

"Did you just call them "knuckleheads?"

"I did.. but that's what they are, aren't they?(Niles smiles) What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing... I suppose so but it's weird hearing it from your mouth.."

They smiled at each other and just a moment later the car pulled up in front of the police station. They took Daphne away for questioning, while Niles was thrown in a waiting cell.

When the door was locked behind him, he could see that he was sharing his cell with two other men. On the first bench there was the typical kind of man who would make him his sex slave in prison: a biker, dressed in a leather jacket and leather pants with a big beer belly hanging over it. His arms where like treetrunks and almost completely covered in tattoos. The man on the second bench was slim, dressed in an expensive-looking white suit and had his hands almost completely covered with golden rings. He smelled heavily of cheap cologne.

After some contemplation Niles decided that the second man was the safest choice to sit next to. He had only just sat down, when the man whispered in his ear:

"Hey Peaches... what are you in for?"

Niles sighed. This was going to be one hell of a morning.

After what seemed like an eternity, the celldoor opened and another man was thrown into the cell. "When will you ever learn, Jim?" the guard yelled at the man. " 'Night!" And the door was once again closed behind him.

"Well, well, don't I know you from somewhere?" He heard the man say.

Niles looked up and stood eye to eye with his attacker.

"Oh my god... you!" He quickly ran past the man and started banging on the door.

"Guard! Guard! Help me!" he yelled with panic in his voice. "This is the guy you're looking for! This is the guy who gave me the gun! Please, help!"

"You little snitch!" The man said angrily "Turn around you traitor!"

Niles slowly turned towards him, just in time to greet Jim's fist with his cheek. He could feel the strong knuckles bruise his skin and fell to the floor.

"Why, giving up already? I wasn't done with you, you wuss!"

Just at that time, the door opened again and one of the guards yelled:

"Is there a Niles Crane inhere?"

"Yes.." he whimpered from the floor. He slowly got up and followed the guard outside, looking over his shoulder one more time to see the man make some kind of foul gesture at him that he couldn't quite place.

"Sir, we are very sorry to have retained you here for so long. Your friend testified and you are hereby found innocent of robbery and the possession of weapons. You can make a denunciation about your stolen possessions if you wish. Is there anything more you'd like to say?"

"Yes well, the guy that robbed me just punched me in the face..."

With that, the guard took him in for questioning and he made a declaration against his attacker who was still being held in the cell. After filling in the forms for his stolen wallet and cell phone and blocking his credit cards, he was free to leave.

When he finally excited the police office, he was greeted by Daphne, who hugged him fiercely. When she looked at him and saw that his nose had been bleeding and that he had a fresh bruise on his cheek, she bursted into tears.

"Oh my god, Dr Crane, what happened to you? Oh god, I'm so sorry..."

"What for? You testified and it got me out... and I can't believe you waited up for me! It's 7 30 for God sakes! Shouldn't you be back at your hotel with Donny by now?"

"I couldn't leave you like this" she answered, still sobbing "It was all my fault that horrible man stole your wallet and it's because of me you got arrested!"

"You couldn't have known that man was lurking in the shadows...and again, thanks so much for testifying I was innocent"

"It was the least I could do... oh, I feel terrible for having to leave you like that!"

"I forgive you.. now, I'm dying to get out of here and go to bed, can we please leave?"

"Of course... I'll escort you to the hotel."

"What for? You are already terribly late as it is..."

"I cannot leave you in this condition! I want you to get back to the hotel safely and look at your bruise."

The truth was, she didn't want to leave him at all... she felt terribly guilty about what happened and above all that, she couldn't bare to face Donny right now.

Together, they took a taxi back to Manhattan and went back to Niles' hotel room. Once they where there, Daphne cleaned his wound and Niles couldn't help but enjoy the closeness of their faces once again. How could she be so caring, so sweet? She was treating him as if he where made out of porcelain, so tender... Why couldn't he have her again?

Afterwards, they both sat down on the bed, exhausted. Niles couldn't quite believe that he was alone in a room with a bed with her, but was too tired to be able to comprehend the meaning of it all. They smiled at each other and she said:

"We have had quite a night, haven't we Dr. Crane"

"We sure have..."

They hugged each other tightly and both felt reluctant to let go. He was so sweet and she had already put him through so much.." When they finally did let go, she asked him if she could lie down on his bed for a little while, which was fine by him.

Almost as soon as she fell down on his soft bed she slipped into a welcoming slumber. As he lay down next to her, observing her from head to toe, he could hear her whisper:

"Goodnight, Niles..."


	7. Chapter 7: The first little lie

They both fell into a deep and welcoming sleep. That morning, Daphne was dreaming about Niles, though she wasn't sure wether she was really dreaming. She felt him tossing and turning beside her, his breathing heavy and his limbs restless. Just as she started wondering why he was so restless after the exhausting night that they had, he whispered her name in a very sensuous voice. "Daphne..."

She was pretty sure by now that this wasn't a dream, but that he was in fact dreaming and she could guess by the sounds that he was making what kind of dream it was. Oh dear...

She could feel him turn around and snuggle up behind her. She felt his hot breath against her neck. He placed a soft, sensuous kiss on the back of her neck and whispered "I love you...". She could feel her heart warm. He then buried his head into her hair and snaked his hand over her waist and started tenderly caressing her hip. Although she could comprehend the awkwardness of the fact that he was having an erotic dream about her while she was lying next to him, the feeling she was having right now was pure bliss. She leaned in to his embrace and slowly caressed his hand. The delightful feeling of his warm body pressed against hers was almost too much to bare. Part of her (three guesses which one) wanted to turn around, kiss him fiercely, pin him to the bed and rip his clothes off. She managed to suppress this urge though, and stayed in his warm embrace. She closed her eyes once more and whispered "I love you too" and slowly fell asleep again.

At noon, they where still fast asleep in each others arms when suddenly they where wakened by the loud ringing of the phone next to the bed. "Oh dear..." said Daphne, yawning. "We fell asleep!"

Niles sat op, disoriented. "Where the hell is that infernal noise coming from? I think I might have some kind of concussion..."

"No, the phone, it's the phone!"

"My phone got stolen last night, don't you remember?"

"The hotel phone" she pointed out. "Over there!"

Niles finally discovered the origin of the noise. "Oh. Right. Well, who could that be?"

Niles groggily picked up the horn. "Niles Crane..."

"Oh, thank God I'm finally able to reach you doc!" Sounded Donny's voice, panicked on the other side of the line "I've been trying to reach you on your cell phone for hours now, but no one picked up and eventually, I thought I had finally reached you but then some guy started yelling at me in Puerto Rican! Listen, something's up..."

Niles put his hand in front of the horn and mouthed at Daphne: "It's Donny!" Daphne suddenly looked visibly uncomfortable.

"Look, When I woke up this morning, Daphne wasn't in our hotel room and I have no idea where she went. Her phone was turned off and since you had seen her last night after I left, I tried to reach you. But I've been trying for hours and I haven't seen her all morning..."

"Donny, I'm very sorry to have kept you so concerned... you see, my cell phone was stolen last night, so that's why you couldn't reach me. As for Daphne..."

He suddenly saw Daphne waving her hands at him, gesturing him to stop talking. She had a look of blind panic on her face. "Hold on just a second, Donny" and he placed his hand back on the horn.

"What do you want me to say to him?"

"Tell him I'm not here... Tell him that I went out to meet someone, or I don't know, make something up!" she hissed back, still panicking.

Niles looked confused, bud obeyed her wish. "I..haven't seen her for hours" He stated, immediately he started fumbling his pockets in panic in an attempt to find his handkerchief. Just in time he retrieved it from his pocket before his nose started bleeding uncontrollably.

"We...(sniffs) went to a bar and afterwards I went back to the hotel and she stayed out to meet up with an old friend."

"A...friend? She didn't tell me about any friend!"

"Yes well... they had accidentally met... at the bar." Niles fumbled for the right words to keep the story straight. "She's an old friend from England who recently moved to New York...I'm sure Daphne is... (he glances at her as she readjust her bra in front of the mirror)... fine"

"I hope so... I have been trying to reach her for hours but she never called in to tell me where she went. I am getting very concerned. What if something happened? Why did you leave her alone in the first place?" Donny started to sound irritated "To be honest, I think it was very irresponsible of you to leave a woman alone in a bar in a strange city. I hope you realize this..."

"Yes well" For a second, he felt a surge of rage going through him, and he didn't know if he wanted to address it to Donny for blaming him or to Daphne for making him lie about her whereabouts. In the end he just said: "Well, I do apologize. If I hear anything I will make sure to give you a call. Have a good afternoon!"

"Yeah, you too Doc..." Donny sighed. And with that, he hung up the phone.

Niles now turned to Daphne: "What was that good for? Why did you make me lie to him?" He said, still holding his handkerchief in front of his nose. " could have just told the whole story and he might have understood! Now we have to make up some imaginary friend of yours to keep up appearances.."

"Don't think that would have worked..."

"Why not? What's so wrong about telling the truth?"

"What would I have told him? That I spent the night with my recently separated, male friend, whom I'm, in case you haven't noticed, just slightly attracted to? That we got irresponsibly drunk, broke into an abandoned building and KISSED each other? That you got robbed, got blamed for the robbery yourself and spent the morning in JAIL? That we SLEPT IN THE SAME BED?"

Niles was surprised by her sudden change of tone and frankness. And did she really just admit she was attracted to him? Wow.. "Well, I suppose... I wasn't gonna tell him we kissed, you know? And I could have said I slept on the couch... he might have understood. And now, he's very worried about you. What if he reports you as MISSING?...God what have we done..."

He looked up at her, his anger fading as he looked into her eyes "On the other hand, one little lie won't kill us..."

"I suppose not... I hope not..." she said, pondering. "you think it was a bad thing we did?"

"I don't know...I don't know why you didn't just answer his call and made up an excuse last night, it would have spared him a lot of stress."

"Oh dear... I have turned off my own cell phone in the restaurant and I forgot all about it.. I just got it recently, you see? I suppose I could turn it back on, call him back and stick with your story of my friend in New York. That will clear things up for sure."

"I'm sure it will...Why don't you do that, freshen up and then we can figure out what to do next?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. I will just take this in the bathroom then." she said, and exitted to the bathroom.

Daphne went into the bathroom and turned on the faucet to fill the tub and sat down on the side of it. She dialed Donny's number and waiting for him to pick up. After hearing the dial tone for several times, she got his voice mail. He must be at some meeting somewhere, then. She got up and spoke in his voice mail:

" Hey Donny... this is Daphne... I just wanted to say that you don't have to worry about me and that I'll be fine. I'm at...AAARRRGGGHHH!" At that point, she slipped and flew head first into the tub, dunking the phone under water.

She bumped her head against the tub and winced in pain. Within seconds, there was a knock on the door. "Daphne, are you OK?" Niles was asking on the other side of the door. "Yes, I suppose so.. I just bumped me head is all.." Why did he have to be so considerate and sweet? "OK, well, let me know if you need anything" He said back.

Daphne looked at her phone. "Bloody hell" she thought "I might as well just throw this thing away now...This is a broken piece of garbage now... How is Donny ever going to receive my message now?" She knew perfectly well that she didn't finish the message. He would worry about her, for sure. She decided she would call him on a payphone later.

After Daphne had finished her bath, Niles went in for a shave and a quick shower and afterwards they where discussing what to do next.

"You should really go back to Donny." Niles said.

"Well, I would, but how about some breakfast first? I'm starving."

Together they walked out of the hotel. Daphne knew that Niles was right, that she should go back to Donny, that he was worried about her. But she didn't want to, she didn't want to leave Niles. Apart from their misfortunes, this had been the happiest day of her life. She wanted it to continue... She wanted to block out everything about Donny, she wanted to forget that she was even married to him, even though it would mean hiding behind a wall of lies and denial. She wanted this trip to be all about her and Niles. And so far, it seemed to be working pretty well...


	8. Chapter 8: denial

What the hell was going on? Niles wasn't quite sure he understood what Daphne was up to. She was ignoring all queries he had about Donny. It was like she was acting as if he didn't even exist. He was terribly confused. Did this really mean what he thought it did? Was she having second thoughts about her marriage? And that incident in the subway, followed by that wonderful kiss this morning on the rooftop... He knew they had been drunk, but she had seemed so sincere about her feelings and he was pretty sure that sparks where flying everywhere when they kissed, that the upcoming sun turned into a red, beating heart and that there was a rainbow in the sky with a unicorn jumping over it...So, was it true? Was she having second thoughts about her marriage because of HIM?

Right now, the hours passed in a daze of bliss. They had been walking around town for hours, dragging their hung over, aching bodies to Chinatown and having a very late breakfast of greasy Chinese food. They would sit at the restaurant having animated discussions about space, science fiction and time travel. They would gaze into each others eyes for minutes at a time and feed each other of eachothers' plates. Niles never knew Chinese food could be this good, though he never had a particular liking for it. Was that just the hangover talking, or was it something else?

Then they walked through Little Italy, hand in hand, smiling at each other and chatting non-stop. At some point, she had let go of his hand and moved her hand to his back, softly stroking it. She put her arm around his waist and he did the same to her. She had leaned her head on his shoulder as they continued their walk, allowing him to breathe in the wonderful scent of her hair. At that point, it dawned on him that they where no longer acting like close friends. They where acting like lovers.

Would he have to bring this up? He would at some point, but just the thought of doing so made him sick to the stomach. What if he was wrong? What if he was right, but she would leave him either way and go back to Donny? He couldn't risk it. He had to be sure.

Daphne was fully aware of the fact that Donny didn't get the full message, but she hoped that it would confirm Niles' claim that she went out to visit a girlfriend... Oh yeah, right. Truth be told, she couldn't care less. She really didn't know what was wrong with her, why she was neglecting her husband like this, why she couldn't really be bothered to find a pay phone and explain the full story. She didn't know why she lied to him about the friend in the first place. I mean, Niles was right and she didn't really have to tell them the whole story... She could have left out the part about the rooftop and the kiss and even the part about Niles getting arrested so Donny wouldn't blab it all over Seattle. But instead she made up some phony story about a woman that didn't exist and didn't even bother to call him back after her phone broke down.

All she could think about was that she could worry about that later and that right now, all she could think about was spending another wonderful evening with Niles. She could probably explain about the phone, make up some excuse about not calling back. Maybe she could leave a note at their hotel at a time that she was sure he would be out to see clients. Yes, that would work. She would do that later.

She looked at the man walking by her side. What did all this mean? Why was she so happy about Niles' separation? She was married, for god's sake. And that ring on her finger was feeling more and more like a burden. She knew damn well she was happy about the separation because she was in love with Niles. Did this make him available again? She was pretty sure he still felt the same way about her, everything that happened last night pretty much confirmed, underlined it and put it into bold italics. It was driving her crazy that her marriage was now the only thing standing in their way. Why did she marry Donny again?

She couldn't believe her trail of thoughts, but what if she would divorce him? Divorce the divorce lawyer. She wasn't sure if she could. He would ruin the both of them, and she couldn't help but wonder if these feelings she was having for Niles where just a phase. Though truth be told, they sure didn't feel like a phase. But yes, married. And whatever this wonderful thing was that she felt blooming between her and Niles, she could not act upon it. They. Could. Never. EVER. Act upon it...Again.

Unbeknownst of eachother, they where both suppressing the questions they had about their relationship. They knew something had to be said, something had to be done to get them out of this mess. But they kept ignoring everything in the world but themselves, wanting to savor each moment they spent together, not wanting to complicate their time with difficult, maybe life-altering questions. If there was no question, there was no answer. And no disappointment. They felt like two teenagers in love as they wandered the streets of New York, holding eachother tight and wondering what to do next.


	9. Chapter 9: ? and drugs and Rock & Roll

The evening fell once again over the streets of Manhattan. Donny had found his way back from work and was once again greeted by an empty hotel room. He sighed deeply, and looked around. There was no message for him at the hotel desk, not even a note to explain her whereabouts. He was worried sick. Who was this friend anyway? And was it just him, or was Dr Crane acting a little weird on the phone? Either way, he wanted to know where she was. He picked up the phone and dialed the number, and waited for an answer.

"New York Police Department, how may I help you?"

"Yes, this is Donny Douglas speaking. I'd like to report a missing person..."

In a different part of town, Niles and Daphne where now walking on Bowery, looking for a place to go. Daphne stopped in front of a bar with white blinds that said "CBGB"- "omfug" in red letters. The door and walls where covered in various scribblings, stickers and graffiti.

"Ohh I've heard of this place! It's legendary and was supposed to be the place to be in the 70's and 80's... I want to take a look inside!"

"Do we have to? I don't like the way it looks...(pause) Oh god, now I remember this place... I went here years ago, when I was on my leave from Yale visiting New York... I went to the bathroom and saw all these obscene graffito's on the walls. So I went back to the bar, asked for some soap and a sponge and spent hours cleaning the toilet. I didn't stop until it was spotless and I remember being very pleased with my work. So I mentioned this to the bartender and when he saw what I had done... You know what he did? He kicked be out! After not as much as a thank you... And very harshly, too, and then sent his hardrocker buddies after me, who chased me for several blocks... The rudeness!"

"Aw, come on Dr Crane, I will protect you... I bet that guy doesn't even work here anymore." she said, laughing at his remark.

They held eachothers hands as they entered the bar, which smelled of stale beer and cigarettes. The inside of it looked a lot like you would expect from the outside: lots of black, graffiti and stickers everywhere and there was a stage for bands to perform on. They walked towards the bar and ordered drinks. Niles spent about 10 minutes dusting off 2 barstools before he allowed Daphne to sit down. The bartender glanced at him, smiling mischievously, looking him up and down. He might have traded in yesterday's Armani suit for a casual blue shirt and white trousers, but he still looked overdressed for a Rock & Roll bar, and the large blue bruise on his right cheek made the image complete.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"I don't think so..." He answered with a hint of panic in his eye

"I'm pretty sure I do.. I've worked here for over 20 years now and I barely ever forget a face."

"No you don't!" Daphne interrupted. "We've never been here before in our lives. We just popped in for a pint, is all. Now bring us our beers and sod off!"

"Very well, ma'am." and he left to get their beers, and as he got back: "You know, I kinda like your attitude." He reached out his hand to Daphne. "I'm Timmy."

Daphne shaked his hand. "Daphne, pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine" he said, moving to Niles, who also shook his hand. "I'm Niles.." And, as he saw Timmy winking at Daphne and then looking down at her cleavage "...her husband!" It was out before he knew it.

Daphne glanced at him with a questioning look, but luckily decided that the two of them parading as husband and wife for the evening wouldn't be as bad as Timmy drooling over her.

"yes" she answered rolling her eyes awkwardly and assisting Niles in holding his head back as his nose started to bleed once again. "Me and Dr...Niles are married!"

"Oh great" Niles thought with mixed feelings. "We are on first name bases again...awkward things always happen when she says my name... Beautiful, awkward things...oh dear."

The evening at CBGB's turned out to be more fun than Niles had expected. They sat at the bar and watched the club slowly fill up with all types of colorful people. There was some band playing that Niles didn't like very much, but somehow the people where able to dance to the terrible noise that they produced and he found it sort of amusing to look at this strange display. Timmy turned out to be quite an interesting party. He used to be a roady for several large rock bands back in the 70's before settling down in New York and becoming a bartender and sound technician at CBGB's. Whatever you asked, he had seen. Every drug induced prostitute ridden celebrity scandal you mentioned, he knew the whole story first hand. Especially Daphne enjoyed listening to his crazy stories all night, since "He sort of sounds like an American version of me dad", she had mentioned.

After the band stopped playing, a DJ took over musical duties and Niles didn't like the most things he played either. Then at a certain point, a slow song came on.

"I think I've heard this song somewhere, at the end of a movie I saw a few years back...it was a sad ending. But I guess I knew that from the start, it being a Shakespeare classic and all." said Daphne

"Which one?"

"Romeo and Juliet, obviously..."

"Oh I love that book. It's one of the most excellent tragedies ever written. If you liked this movie so much, we can go and rent it sometime, watch it together."

"I'm not sure you'd like that version. It's sort of.. modern."

"Ah. ... yes I suppose I am a bit of a purist, am I not? Well then, at least this song seems very nice. Would you like to dance?"

She smiled. "I'd love to, D.. Niles."

And as they moved together on the dance floor, they both wondered if this was all they could ever have. An intimate, but platonic friendship. Was their life still waiting ahead of them really as bad as it seemed? Being married to another man, Daphne couldn't help but feel like she was leading him on, and it was killing her. Niles felt like he had always been unhappy in love. After two failed marriages, he was finally in the welcoming arms of the love of his life. But still, they where not together...

Their trail of thoughts was cut short when the song came to a sudden, impassioned ending. "Who the hell did that singer want to choke anyway?" Niles thought as they walked back to their barstools.

After one more beer, Timmy mentioned that his shift would finish soon and that he was supposed to meet up with some friends at his apartment afterwards, and Niles and Daphne where welcome to join him if they wanted to. After some contemplation, they took his offer.

Timmy's house was peculiar, to say the least. All his furniture seemed to be an assembly from the collection of various second hand stores and landfills. There where ashtrays on every table but according to the cigarette buds discarded all over the floor, nobody seemed to know how to use them. There was a cement mixer in one corner with several electric guitars leaning against it. People had been writing on the walls and against one wall leaned an original silkscreen print by the Pop Art artist Andy Warhol ("Yes, I got it back in the early 70's when I was touring with the Velvet Underground and they didn't have any money to pay me because they had spent it all their money on smack... so they gave me this instead." he had explained). Niles was kind of offended by the way he was displaying the piece, but decided not to mention it.

All around the place place, there where weird punker types lying around in chairs and even on the floor. You could slice the thick air in pieces and by the smell of it, it weren't just cigarettes that these people where smoking.

Niles and Daphne sat down at a tattered brown sofa that reminded Niles of a kingsize version of his father's chair. It turned out to be quite a gathering. Some of Timmy's friends would play jams on one of the guitars and go on for hours, others would tell even more crazy stories. Wild looking women where draped around some of the guys and bottles of whisky would go around the room. At some point, a spliff was passed along to Niles.

"Excuse me? What is this, reefer? What am I supposed to do with this?"

"What do you think you do? Take a drag and pass it on, you rooky."

"I'm not going to smoke this..." saying that, Daphne took the spliff from his hand and took a drag.

"There you go..." She said, coughing. "You know, you probably haven't done this since prep school and think it's really childish but I think tonight's a good night for new experiences"

"Prep school? I didn't do anything out of the ordinary in prep school. I never really liked those stoner kids (several angry faces look at him) I mean.. no, never felt the urge to do so."

"Really? I thought everyone tried it at some point in their lives..."

"Yes, everyone except me and Frasier"

With that being said, Timmy interrupted them. "Yes, well you know Niles, you are never too old to learn. You should try it. You know what, there's a way it can be fun for the both of you... (Turning his head) Priscilla! Come here for a second, will ya?" A 30 something woman with black leather jeans that sort of reminded Niles of Roz came up to him and he gestured for her to sit on his lap. She did so, and he took the spliff back from Daphne and took a long drag. He then brought his lips to Priscilla's as if he where to kiss her, and blew out the smoke in her mouth. She inhaled deeply and exhaled the big cloud of smoke. "And that's pretty much all that is to it. Now come on, be a man and give your wife some kisses" handing the spliff back to Daphne.

"I.. well... I don't think I can..."

"Oh, Niles, why not? It could be fun.." Daphne said, encouraging him.

"Well.. I suppose... I could give it a try..." ,weirded out that he was agreeing to such a barbaric thing like this.

Daphne inhaled deeply and slowly brought her lips to his. When their lips touched, he felt a shiver going down his spine and he took in the sensation of their lips touching once again. He parted his lips, inhaling the smoke and Daphne pulled back. He was once again hypnotized by her closeness. As he exhaled, he burst into a rage of coughs and heard all the people in the room laugh at him. He recovered himself and felt weird, giggly and lightheaded. This wasn't too bad, he thought. And, wanting to prove himself, he asked Daphne to do it again. This went sufficiently better and feeling encouraged by this, he tried it a third time. This time, he wouldn't let Daphne part from his lips and he pulled her into a long, passionate kiss. As she lowered herself on top of him, he could hear people cheering.

When their lips parted once more, he was feeling a surge of euphoria going through his body, and felt like laughing. It was a small giggle at first, with Daphne giggling back at him. He then really started to get the giggles. He couldn't stop laughing and tears where flowing down his cheeks. It went on for minutes, and as he finally stopped, he looked Daphne deep in the eye...

"Oh Daphne, you're a Goddess, Daphne.." he said, his glazed eyes gazing at her.

And with that, he passed out on the sofa.

Niles and Daphne where lying on the tattered sofa, falling in and out of a slumber. They where cuddled close together in each others arms. At 8 am, Niles slowly wakened and kissed Daphne lightly on the lips, waking her up. He smiled at her warmly as she slowly opened her deep brown eyes and he brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Goodmorning my sunshine" he said, smiling and looking into her eyes.

"Good morning...Niles" she said, smiling back at him. "this is nice..I like waking up next to you like this, I wish we could do it more often" She said, rubbing her foot over his calf and tangling their legs together. He gave her a sad smile. "So do I... But we can't can we?"

"I don't think so... not under these circumstances, anyway." She replied, sadly.

Niles thought for a few moments, and figured maybe this was as good a time as any to have THE talk. He would just ask. He would start slowly, trying not to ruin their moment together.

"Daphne... what would you do if the circumstances where... different? Would you still see me as a friend, or would I be something more?"

"I think you already know the answer to that question." She hesitantly replied

" I Think so... but I think that we should talk about it. What is happening between us, Daphne? Why aren't you going back to Donny... What do you want? Do you find me... attractive?"

"I'm not sure I know the answer to these questions yet...And even if I did, would the answer not complicate our situation even more?"

"Yes.. I'm sure it would. But, I can't deny what I'm feeling towards you and how we have been acting around each other. In case you didn't notice, we are acting like...like lovers."

"Yes, I know. Well, I suppose... I'm enjoying every second of it. I don't know what we should do, what I should do with Donny...but I suppose that yes, I am attracted to you. Very much so."

They stared at eachother in awe. "so... what are we supposed to do about that?" He eventually answered. "because, well, giving the situation, you are kind of giving me a hard time suppressing how I feel and staying a gentleman"

"You are?" She said, amused.

"Yes, and you should know that. I'm a thread to your marriage. Look at us, cuddling on the sofa... friends shouldn't be this close. I am a man, you know..even though it's not always noticeable, I still am... and you are a very attractive woman, and it's wrong of me to be feeling what I'm feeling"

"oh god, I know... I just wish...I just wish we could act upon it, OK?" She said, hugging him tighter. He was pretty sure she could feel certain parts of his body reacting to her closeness. She glanced at him and he blushed.

"I'm sorry I... this is what I mean, it's so difficult"

"It is to me too...I want to be with you, you know? I want you to make love to me..."

He looked at her, shocked. "What?"

"Well, that's what we are talking about right?"

"Well..yes."

"and I don't know...I don't want to leave you but...talking about it.. it makes me want you even more."

"oh yes... well, we'll have to shut up again then," he smiled, making a gesture of locking his mouth and throwing away the key.

"right..."

They returned to their silence, lying in each others arms and holding eachother tight. After a while, Daphne softly stroked his back, a gesture that he returned. He buried his head in her hair, taking in her scent once more. She deepened the caress and they started tangling their legs together closely, their feet softly rubbing against eachother. He started stroking her hip and she moved her hands down and gave his butt a small pinch, bringing him even closer to her. Their breathing became heavy and as they faced eachother, they where both blushing and he brushed his lips against hers and they shared a soft kiss. They where both definitely beyond reason. He moved his lips across her cheek and started sucking her earlobe. "How about we go someplace private?" he whispered.


	10. Chapter 10: delays

Niles couldn't believe his own words as they rolled from his mouth. Had he really just said that? "sounds lovely..." Daphne whispered back to him, making him feel lightheaded and he had to use all his strength not to pass out.

"OK then, my Goddess, let's get you off this sofa" He said, teasingly.

He shifted to a sitting position, never leaving her embrace and after placing a kiss on her forehead, he lifted her off the sofa. He looked around the room and discovered some of Timmy's friends still asleep on the floor. Dodging the snoring bodies on the floor, he made his way to what he supposed was a bedroom, hoping to find it empty.

Hearing a terrible crash from the room they where heading for that almost made Niles drop Daphne to the floor, they realized they where having no such luck. Niles gently placed Daphne back on her feet and they listened what was going on.

They could hear Timmy yell from behind the door: "You f*cking imbecile! How dare you shoot up smack in my bedroom! I told you, I'd call the cops if I caught you doing that sh*t one more time. Get out! I'm calling them right now!"

A pale, sick-looking punker stumbled out of the bedroom, tripping over the sleeping people on the floor before hitting it himself, face first and passing out in the process. Then Timmy came out, looking very angry.

"Oh, I'm sorry you guys" He said addressing Niles and Daphne. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything..."

The couple just stared at him, dumbstruck. "Not at all..." Niles eventually mumbled.

"Well... I'm glad. I'm sorry you had to see this. This guy is a heroin and coke addict and a dealer too and the only reason he keeps showing up at my house is because he's cheap and some of my buddies buy weed from him. This is about the fifth time I catch him doing drugs in my apartment. I'm gonna have him arrested for it this time...so, you guys are staying for breakfast?"

Daphne and Niles glanced at each other. "Maybe we should just go back to my hotel room, I wouldn't want us to be here when more cops show up..." Niles whispered. Daphne nodded at that.

And, addressing Timmy: "No, I'm sorry but we must be on our way.. It was very nice to meet you."

They said their goodbyes and as they walked towards the door, the drug addict dealer clamped on to one of Niles' legs and wouldn't let go.

"Why you... let go of me" he said, raising his voice and dragging the man along the floor with his leg. "Let go you filthy junkie! You should take some hygiene lessons and..."

In a sudden movement, Daphne kicked the man in the groin with one of her pumps. He winced in pain and let go of Niles. They left Timmy laughing his guts out and exited the apartment.

As they walked back to the hotel, they couldn't stop thinking about what just almost happened between them. Where they being very irresponsible, or where they meant to be together? Where they just delaying their fate by not acting upon it?

"Daphne.." he said, breaking the silence. "Do you think it's wrong what we intended to do?"

"Yes...very wrong, in a way. But in on the other hand, it didn't feel like that at all."

"No, it sure didn't... so, when we get back to the hotel, should we... would you...you want to...us...I mean, do you want me to...continue?" he fumbled.

"Oh Niles...well, that junkie sort of killed the mood and I should be responsible but... hell yes!"

"Oh Daphne.." he giggled and they picked up their pace, almost running when they passed a TV store that had some TV's on display showing the local news. Suddenly, Daphne saw her face on 16 different TV screens. Shocked, they stopped running and went into the store to hear what they where saying about her.

"Seattle citizen Daphne Douglas-Moon went missing on wednesday night after having dinner with her friend, Dr Niles Crane. She supposedly..."

"Oh dear..." said a shocked Daphne, and Niles' jaw dropped open.

"I have to clear this up right now. This is ridiculous. We should head back to the hotel and call Donny immediately."

"I thought you.. already called Donny to tell him you where visiting a friend?"

"Oh god.. I..my phone might have.. broken down while I was in the process of doing that..I didn't want to tell you..I'm sorry Niles, but there's no time to waste..." She said with a hint of panic in her voice. Niles was suddenly looking very pale and for a few moments it seemed like he was going to hyperventilate. Daphne took him by the hand and before he could get lost in his panic attack, they where out the door and rushing toward the hotel.

On screen, the voice continued: "The NYPD are still looking for Dr. Crane, who left without a trace after having a telephone conversation with Mr. Douglas in his hotel room yesterday afternoon. He is suspected of complicity.."

The pair rushed to the hotel and ran into the lobby.

"There he is!" yelled the receptionist and suddenly, four policemen who came out of nowhere came up to Niles.

"Dr. Niles Crane?"

"Yes..."

"You are under arrest for the kidnapping of Mrs Daphne Douglas. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney.."

Niles felt all the blood drain from his face as the policemen read him his rights, put cuffs on him and lead him outside. He looked at Daphne, who looked similarly pale and found herself pushed into a corner because of all the sudden commotion. She wanted to yell that Niles did nothing wrong, that she was standing right here, but she was pinned to the floor. He looked Niles in the eye one last time and in a silent plea, saying "I'm sorry" before he was hauled into the police car.


	11. Chapter 11: discussions behind bars

This time, Niles was all alone in his waiting cell. He sighed. They let this get way out of hand. Why couldn't he just have dropped Daphne off at Donny's after the first night? Part of him wanted to be mad at Daphne for not helping him when he got arrested. But he knew she must have been just as terrified as he was. She cared about him. He knew she did. And she would turn up eventually and set things right.

Then why was he feeling like his heart was being ripped out of his ribcage? Why had he been torturing himself in the last couple of days? What was he thinking, even approaching her like that, thinking they could still be friends after everything that happened. Who the hell where they kidding? He was a grown man, a psychiatrist, for heaven's sake. And he had just spent two days with the love of his life, who was married to another man. Parading like a lovesick teenage couple, not caring about any of the consequences, not caring that they weren't really meant to be together.

And it seemed like she was playing along just as much as he had been. She had wanted him... He could't stop thinking about what would have happened to them if they didn't see that item on the news, if he wasn't arrested... He could have had his way with her, and she would have let him. They could have had one truly amazing morning of explosive passion...He could have done everything he ever wanted to do to her, express his undying love for her...and she would have made his dreams come true.

...Well, most of them, at least. Because he would want her to stay. He wanted her to leave Donny and be with him, love him for the rest of her life. Did she really love him? She said it once, but that was 2 months ago... Did she still feel the same way, or had their naïve outbursts of passion just been a hormonal thing to her, a way to take her mind off her husband? He wasn't sure. And either way, he wasn't sure where this would place them. Even if she loved him, would she have the courage to leave Donny?

The thought of it made him sick to the stomach. His heart was feeling heavy and weary with sorrow. It was as if his heart was swelling up, pushing all the air out of his lungs. He was choking up and felt his eyes get wet. This wasn't fair. He had gone through so much already, why couldn't he just be happy? He thought about his essay. He knew that his interest in the subject was more than just the psychiatric point of view. It had given him hope. If even people with limited social skills who where used to living in their own world with their own strange little habits and living patterns, people who had no experience with maintaining a romantic relationship...If they could find love, then so could he, right? So why wasn't it happening for him? He was getting old... he had made too many mistakes already, why couldn't he just be with his love, why couldn't he be the man that made her happy?

Niles buried his head in his hands and started sobbing uncontrollably. He was a complete mess. Instead of visiting museums and preparing his speech, which he was supposed to address to the International Psychiatric Association tomorrow, his life had spun completely out of control in just two days. And now he was in jail. Again. What was he supposed to do?

He was too caught up in his own sorrow, that he didn't notice the door to his cell unlocking and 2 men stepping inside.

"Regretting your little adventure already, Doc?" sounded a familiar voice.

He startled and looked up. In the doorway stood a police officer and next to that was... Donny. Oh dear God...

"I'd like to have a little talk with you.." He continued in a tense voice. "To start things off with... where the hell is my wife?" He said angrily as he sat down on the bench next to him.

He dried off his tears and tried to compose himself. "At this time, I can honestly say I don't know..." He answered, sadly. "But I'm pretty sure she is safe. Nobody kidnapped her, Donny."

"Listen... Niles. I want to believe you. You always seemed like a safe, honest guy. But after I found out what you got yourself into...I'm just not sure anymore. What is this trip to you, doc? Some abandoned celebration of your new freedom? Because I've spoken to Mel, you know... she told me all about your current... preference. So what, you come to New York, where people don't know you, and go wild? I have nothing against homosexuals, but this is just plain wrong. I mean, prostitutes, drugs? That's not the Niles Crane I know..."

"Who...told you this?"

"And Daphne must have known about your escapades, and you didn't want her to blab it all over town... so what, doc? What did you do to silence her?" Donny yelled, raising his voice.

"Silence her..." He repeated confusedly. And then, adressing the officer: "OK, could someone fill me in here? Because honestly, I haven't got a clue!"

"Dr Crane.." said the officer. "When you came in here, we have done some research on you. We have checked your bank account and it seemed that on thursday morning, a charge was made for "services" to the account of a well-known Brooklyn transvestite and prostitute. When questioned, he admitted he was indeed with a client on thursday morning. And then when we searched you, we found 4 grams of cocaine hidden in your sock, and your blood test came back positive for marihuana..."

Niles gasped at hearing all this information. His cards...the junkie grabbing his leg...He looked at Donny to the officer and started to hyperventilate.

"Look"...he said as he composed himself once again "There's a perfectly good explanation for all of this. Well, I suppose the part about the marihuana is true... but it was just a little and just one time... I've never done it before in my life, I swear! And furthermore, it wasn't mine. As was the cocaine. A drug dealer hid it in my sock this morning and if you don't believe me, he was taken into custody as well this morning, and I am willing to point him out to you. As for the prostitute, how stupid do you think I am, charging the bill to my own account? Even I wouldn't make that mistake. And have you ever thought about checking your OWN records? I never thought I'd be using this as an alibi, but I was in JAIL on thursday morning! My cards where taken from me, and because of a stupid misunderstanding, the Brooklyn police blamed me for the robbery. So it took me a few hours before I could block my cards. If you just check the time I was brought in, I'm sure it will match up...And my wife is a freaking liar! I'm not gay, she's just frustrated that our marriage isn't working!"

"Well, I'm not interested in your personal life, but we will check up on the information about the cards. In the meantime, I'm afraid we do have to keep you in custody.." said the officer.

"Look, Donny...I didn't do this OK? I would never do anything that could endanger Daphne. And Mel's a liar... she hates me right now and she would like to do anything to harm my name..."

"So I guess now's a bad time to tell you that the police have contacted her and told her everything this officer just told you?" Donny replied, smirking.

"Oh well, I would have figured it out when my name appeared in the tabloids..." Niles sighed. "Terrific, he thought. "As if I wasn't in enough trouble to begin with, and now Mel knows..."

"Niles... I don't know wether or not I should believe you. But I do believe in justice, and the truth will reveal itself eventually. But I really hope you are right, because I like you...now, back to my wife..."

"Yes well...I don't know where she is right now, but she could tell you I'm telling the truth as soon as she arrives..."

"Whadayamean when she arrives? You do know where she is, do you?" He snapped.

"crap" thought Niles. "No I don't...but I haven't been completely honest with you on the phone before..."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I did see her... after wednesday night."

"You what? What do you mean by that?"

"We sort of... spent the whole night together..." he hesitantly replied.

"WHAT? Did you sleep with her?" Donny yelled.

"No, I did not..."

"Well, did anything else happen between you two? I've seen your little awkward behavior around her..I'm not blind. WELL?"

"Uhm...(turning to the officer) Excuse me sir. May I have a napkin? I'm afraid I was punched in the face some days ago and the wounds haven't fully healed."

The officer gave him the napkin and he precautionary held it in front of his nose. He turned back to Donny. "No... nothing" And the napkin slowly turned red.

"Is that so?" Donny said in a suspicious tone

"Yes. Look, why don't you release me and we can wait for Daphne to contact either one of us and she can clear the whole thing up..."

"Sir, I'm afraid you are a suspect and we cannot release you until we have checked your statement..." said the officer.

Suddenly, a woman's voice with a familiar accent was heard from behind the door: "Let him go. He's innocent."

Suddenly, everyone startled and looked to the source of the voice in the door opening. "Daphne.." Niles stared at her in awe and got up from his bench, before Donny got up, knocked him over, rushed towards her and hugged her tightly.

"Where have you been honey? I've missed you so much.. did anyone try to harm you?"

"I.." Daphne hesitated and broke the hug "No. And I was never kidnapped. I was..." She looked at Niles sadly and took a deep breath. "I was with Ni...Dr. Crane."

"You what?" said Donny, and turned to Niles, slowly walking towards him with a threatening look on his face "You lying son of a..."

"Donny wait! Let me explain." Daphne interrupted. "I was with him the whole time. We are very close friends and we just wanted to have fun together, we haven't spoken to each other in months... But then Dr. Crane got robbed and had to spent the night in jail and I... I panicked. I didn't want to give you the wrong impression, that I had spend the night with my male friend, so I made Dr. Crane lie about me visiting a friend. The truth is, there is no friend. We where together the whole time. And then my phone died and I couldn't reach you..."

"..Right.." said Donny. "Well, forgive me for being a bit hesitant.. I think I believe you but..what happened after that?"

"Why don't you just release N..Dr. Crane, and we can get back to the hotel and I'll explain the whole thing?"

"That sounds like a reasonable plan..." agreed Donny... "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Doc."

"It's OK" he sighed. "You where upset, you lost your wife and it was partly my fault.. I'm happy you believe I'm innocent." he said, sincerely.

"So, shall we go?"

"I'm afraid I have to interrupt you on that" said the officer. "I have noted your statement, so Mr and Mrs Douglas are free to go. And, even though there was no kidnapping and your story about the prostitute sounds solid to me, you are still suspected of possession of drugs. You can get out on parole, but you are not allowed to leave the state until your case is addressed in court. Mrs Douglas can stand as a witness to prove your innocence."

Niles sighed deeply. "Allright well... It was an illusion of me to think that I can spend my whole life without a permanent record...you have all the right to suspect me. Fine then. Daphne, you should go home with Donny... I'll make a statement against our little junkie friend that got me into this mess, and I'll call Frasier to bail me out. Mel probably told the entire population of Seattle about my arrest by now, so he'll surely know about it..."

And so, Niles followed the officer to the phone booth and Donny and Daphne exited to the door, walking hand in hand. When he turned around, Niles couldn't help but stare sadly at them.

A/N: OK this is turning out to be quite a project... After this one, I will release one more chapter this week. After that one, I'm going to finish the story and release it all in one day. So, keep the feedback coming, it's much appreciated! Also, thanks to SamandDianefan10 and 5uck3r4pun15hm3nt for their support so far!


	12. Chapter 12: talk, talk

Many miles away, Frasier walks into cafe Nervosa to meet up with his producer, Roz. He finds her already waiting at their regular table and walks up to her.

"Roz! I'm glad to see you. Look, before we start discussing today's show, I wanted to tell you I just received an interesting phone call from Niles. You know where he was calling from?"

She looks up at him, with a blank expression on her face. "Yes, prison. You bailed him out..."

"How do you..." Frasier asked, confused, as he sits down.

"Oh well, I just got off the phone with Daphne.. she seemed quite upset."

"Yes, well it seemed the two of them have caused quite a little riot in New York City..."

"Yes they sure did. Wow, I can't get over the fact that Niles smoked pot... that must have been quite an event.. Daphne told me he lasted around 30 seconds before passing out. Man, how can he do this to me? I should have been there too!"

"Yes, I'm not too proud of my little brother about that. But I don't get it. I mean, I can understand why Niles would want to spent 2 full days with Daphne and not notify Donny about it, but what about HER? It seems so..."

"She's in love with him." Roz states without hesitation.

"She is? What... How do you know that?"

"She told me. That's basically why she called me. She told me that she felt bad for Niles, but that they had a great time together and now she considers leaving Donny, because she's madly in love with Niles. She doesn't know if she can, though. What did he tell you?"

"Well, that they kissed...that they had a wonderful time together and that it had felt like they where a couple and that Daphne was attracted to him...and that he felt terrible when she eventually went back to Donny."

"He told you that huh? She told me that they almost ended up in bed, that she found him (rolling her eyes and faking Daphne's accent) 'irresistible' and wanted to rip his clothes off at several occasions. She told me she was wondering if this might be true love, that it was much more than just attraction..."

"(eyes wide open) Really? Well, good for … oh, hell, she's married! And that shrew of a wife of his keeps telling horrible lies about my brother. I mean, have you read today's paper?"

He pushes the Seattle times into her face, opened on page 6. the heading reads: "LOCAL PSYCHIATRIST WANTED FOR KIDNAPPING AFTER HOMOSEXUAL SEX FRENZY WITH PROSTITUTE"

"Oh dear.." said Roz. "Poor Niles...Can you imagine what will they be writing tomorrow when they found out he got arrested? ...So anyway, what did you advice him?"

"I didn't know what to say.. I have always told Niles to follow his heart, or well.. at least I did after I found out about Daphne's feelings for him. But she's married now. To a lawyer. And he's already in enough trouble as it is... But I also said I wanted to see the both of them happy...why, what did you tell Daphne?"

"I told her to go for it. Marriage isn't as sacred for me as it is for you...And do think they'd make a cute couple. And if she's speaking of him that way, she must really love him... I mean, it's NILES... So, I told her to figure out who she cared about the most, and if it where to be Niles... well, I'd say jump his bones and make him sweat."

"Thanks for the vivid description, Roz... I really hope they will find eachother...so, about the show..."

Niles was all alone in his hotel room. He had tidied up the place, because the police had searched his room and had left it rather messy. It seemed that they didn't actually take anything so he didn't bother about it too much, since it gave him something to get his mind off the last couple of days. He had then realized he hadn't eaten all day and ordered roomservice, because he was feeling simply too depressed to go out for dinner. He had taken a shower to get the prisonsmell off his body, gotten dressed even though he didn't know why he even bothered and was now trying to focus on his speech.

He couldn't concentrate. He sat down on the bed, staring at the pieces of paper in front of him, but the words looked like gibberish to him. Maybe he was just tired. Should he take a nap? He lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. What the hell was happening to him? He wouldn't be able to sleep if his thoughts kept spinning around in his head like a whirlwind. Even though his situation didn't seem as hopeless as it did when he was in prison, his heart still felt battered and bruised. Why did she have to go back to Donny? Had the last couple of days just been a game to her? He didn't understand. They had been so close...

She had infiltrated his thoughts once again, and nothing would make her go away. He thought about the conversation he had with Frasier earlier that day. Though he really had felt the need to discuss his situation with someone other than Daphne, he wasn't sure it had helped. "I want you to follow your heart" he had said, "I want the two of you to be happy, but make sure you know what you're doing, because she's still a married woman..." Though he had thought those words himself many times before, the meaning of them was just starting to sink in.

He missed her already. He had enjoyed her company so much and even though they had been irresponsible and he might have to live with the consequences, he would cherish the last couple of days for the rest of his life...He closed his eyes and he remembered her soft hands, and how he had touched one of them in the subway, how they had caressed his back as they kissed on the rooftop in Brooklyn, how they had pressed him against her this morning on the tattered sofa...and her lips, her beautiful, full red lips...they had felt so hot, so soft when he kissed her and he remembered how she eagerly responded to his advances, he remembered her taste...

"Ok, this is not working either" he thought, and sat up again, got off the bed walked towards the window. He watched the last rays of sunlight dip behind the skyscrapers, and he wondered where she could be right now...

Moments later, there was a knock on the door. He woke up from his trail of thoughts and walked to the door and as he opened it he was greeted by the beautiful sight of Daphne, wearing a gorgeous red dress.

"Daphne... you look...what are you doing here? Where's Donny? he stammered.

As he looked her in the eye, he could see her eyes becoming watery and before he could do anything, she had flung herself into his arms and started crying heavily. "Oh, Dr Crane.. I'm so sorry... It's all my fault, please forgive me..."

"It's quite alright Daphne" he said, reassuringly yet overwhelmed by her sudden actions. "I'm here now, and I'm sure we'll both be fine..."

"Yes well" she said, slowly releasing him "I can't help but feel terribly guilty about what happened to you..."

"I'll live. Now, why don't you sit down and tell me about your day, and why the hell you are here and not with your husband."

He lead Daphne to the bed, made her sit down and grabbed a chair for himself.

"Oh I don't know..." Daphne started. "I just feel so guilty and.. I just needed to come over and tell you this because it was eating me up..."

"Apology accepted. Now, if that was all.." he answered rather disappointed "I think you should be getting back, you are a married woman and.." He started to get up.

"Niles, wait." he was startled by the sound of his given name and sat back down again. "That was not all I came here for. I don't just feel guilty towards you... I feel guilty towards Donny, because I honestly don't know what I want anymore. All the things I said before... all the things we have done... I had meant them with all of my heart"

He looks at her with a shocked yet amused expression on his face.

"You do? Well, I'm glad to hear it because you left me really confused aswel. When I saw you..leave with Donny this afternoon, I couldn't help but wonder if these last days really meant as much to you as they did to me and now... well I'm so relieved..." He got up and sat next to her on the bed and hugged her tightly. When their embrace broke, they looked eachother deep in the eye and saw the same twinkle of joy. Niles continued:

"I think we should talk. You know, about..us. I can't hide my feelings anymore and...why don't you start by telling me what happened today."

"Yes.. well I think so too.. and today, this morning when you where arrested, I must say I was completely shocked and it took me quite a while to compose meself... I spent quite a while sitting on the sidewalk, wondering what the hell I should do. Eventually, I took a taxi to the police station, which of course turned out to be the wrong one... so I finally arrived with quite a delay, meaning to explain everything and get you out of there, only to find you talking to Donny. I hadn't seen him in days so I knew that I couldn't get around it, I had to explain meself to him. So, I went back to the hotel with him. I swear, I felt terrible leaving you like that.. So we got back, and I thought he was going to give me the 3rd degree and get really angry... But instead, he was protective and sweet and I didn't know how to react...I have to say that... because of you... I don't really have that much fate in my marriage anymore so I figured.. if we'd get into a big fight, I would be sure that I'd figure out what I want.. I would even have an excuse to break it off if I'd want to but instead, he left me with nothing to go with."

She began to choke up again and Niles immediately reacted by hugging her.

"So I...just gave him an edited version of what happened, and he seemed to go with it. He never questioned my loyalty to him, though he really should have... I didn't have the courage to bring it up meself. He wanted to take a shower and as soon as he was gone, I called Roz, because I needed someone to talk to, and she told me... well, that's not important right now. But I missed you, I missed you so much.. I just had to see you. Anyway tonight, Donny left for another business meeting, and as soon as he was out, I snug out and hurried to see you... Niles I... God this is difficult... I... I'm in love with you"

Niles looked at her in awe...though he had his suspicions, to hear those words again from her lips it was...marvelous... He couldn't stop his urge and grabbed her face and kissed her fiercely on the lips. He felt a longing to be with her that was so strong and started placing kisses all over her face..

"Niles..wait" sounded her voice in rapture, and he felt her pull back a little

"I'm sorry" he breathed "I'm being forward but, how I've longed to hear those words.."

"How I've longed to say them" she said with a smile

"Daphne...You're a goddess. What I told you before, it's so much more than just an attraction I..I love you. I love you so very, very much! Ever since you got married, I've been a complete wreck. Marrying Mel was a mistake and..I want to be with you. I dream about you. I dream about you every night, every day and it's...it's tormenting me and well... they are.."

"I know what kind of dreams they are.."

"You do? Is there anything you don't know?"

"You had one on wednesday morning, and I sort of... noticed.(Niles looks mortified)..But don't be embarrassed because I kind of.. liked it."

"Oh my god that's terrible... you do?"

"Yes, it's kind of pleasing to know that the man you love has naughty dreams about you..."

Niles smiled her shyly, blushed and looked away.."Oh well..thank you Daphne. It's an intense dream and, well, sorry if it made me behave in an inappropriate way towards you. I want to treat you with nothing but respect. And.. you really love me?"

"Yes, I do. You are a true gentleman and you never treated me in a disrespectful way. You are always concerned about me and you make me feel beautiful. You are so handsome and you really are an amazing kisser. Do you have any idea how you make me feel? Ever since I found out that you had feelings for me, I've been utterly confused. I think about you all the time, and I miss you so much when you're not around, that it physically hurts. I'm beginning to think that I married Donny for the wrong reasons.. I married him because I was panicking, because I made a promise to him that I thought I should keep. I wish I didn't, I wish I was with you, because I love you so much more..."

When they looked at eachother again, they where both crying and they hugged eachother tight. They where tears of both joy and of sorrow. Joy, because they finally realized how much they loved eachother and they both reciprocated those feelings. Sorrow, because they didn't act upon these feelings months ago, saving them from all this mess.

"Oh Daphne..You are breaking my heart and making it light up in flames all at the same time..." Niles sobbed "I feel like I have finally found the love of my life, only to find out that our time together has already passed...what do we do?"

"I don't know.. I want to be with you, so much...I...I want to leave Donny, but I don't think that I can."

"I'll help you, whatever you want, I'll be there for you" he whispered as he softly stroked her back and inhaled the sweet smell of her hair. She felt her body slowly calm down in the comfort of his soft embrace. He cherished the feeling of her body so close to his. She leaned into him and slowly raked her hand through his hair.

"Niles..." she whispered in his ear

"What is it, my love?"

"Kiss me..."

_A/N: Ok that's the last one for this week. I am currently working on multiple chapters to finish the story. I have yet to write a key chapter that makes me contemplate wether or not to change the rating from T to M... As always, feedback is much appreciated. _


	13. Chapter 13: This Mess We're In

Niles' heart skipped a beat as it dawned on him what she was asking him to do. He lifted his head to face her.

"What did you just say?"

"Kiss me...Niles"

"I..I.." he stuttered, which made her giggle. "Is it hot in here? It's hot in here.. Maybe I should open a window and..." he went to get up, but Daphne pulled him back down. "Erm.. OK...I'm not sure if that would be appropriate, giving the circumstances. How much as I want to, I'm not sure I would be able to...hold back."

"And I'm not sure I want you to hold back" she flirted

"But.. you are still married and I don't want you to get into more trouble.."

"Niles, I'm a grown woman. And if this is going to cause me any trouble..I'll risk it. As you might have noticed, I'd risk quite a lot for you..and it's just a kiss..." She said, softly stroking his cheek.

That being said, Niles could not contain himself anymore. He slowly brought his face to hers and kissed her softly on the lips. They felt hot and moist and even with the light kiss he gave them, it sent a chill down his spine. As they parted, they looked at each other intensely in anticipation. Both seemed to be looking for words, but none would come. Daphne felt like this one kiss wasn't enough, it didn't quite cover the load...Maybe she should leave..

Instead, she felt her head move towards Niles once again, and before she knew, she attacked his lips fiercely. Niles was startled for a moment, but soon leaned into her and brought her closer to him. They both felt a jolt of electricity going through their bodies as the kiss intensified. Niles stroked her cheek and softly raked his hand through her long, auburn locks. She slowly parted her lips and took his lips in hers. He cautiously let his tongue slip inside her mouth, to which she eagerly reacted. She let her hands journey all over his back, pulling him close as if afraid to let go. They continued to kiss each other passionately and they both wondered why this was wrong, because it felt so right...

As the kiss broke, both of them didn't want the moment to end and they had their eyes locked on one another.

"Daphne.." He breathed. "What are we...Maybe we should stop. I don't want to take advantage of you and..."

"Niles..." she responded, equally breathless "I don't know quite what to say..but... please shut up because it's not helping, you are turning me on..."

"OK. I'll contain myself. Maybe there's no need for words then.."

And they held each other tight, both uncertain wether to keep resisting their desires or to just give in. Niles buried his head in her hear and tickled the soft skin of her neck with his nose. Her closeness made his head spin and her scent made all the little hairs in his neck stand on out. As if she had noticed it, she started stroking his hair and softly caressing the back of his head. Before he could fully comprehend what they where doing, he found himself lifting his head, trailing small kisses up her cheek until he brushed his lips softly against hers. She immediately responded by kissing him back passionately and their tongues started playing with each other once again. Their embrace deepened too and they both started caressing each others back wildly.

Completely beyond reason, Niles pushed Daphne down on the bed. She felt a passion awakening in her that was unknown to her, as if it had lay dormant for years and years. Their longing to be together seemed almost unbearable and they knew would be no turning back from here. She could feel his arousal grow as their legs tangled together. Their lips parted and Niles moved his lips and started kissing her neck wildly. She let her emotions run freely now and let out a soft moan of delight. Encouraged by this, he slid down one of the straps of her dress and started trailing kisses down her shoulder. How he would love to make her happy... She had moved her hands from his back to his chest and stroked it fiercely, gripping the fabric of his blouse. She then grabbed his tie and pulled him down for another passionate kiss and as their lips touched, she loosened his tie and pulled it off in one quick movement.

As they kissed, he had moved his hand to her upper leg and he slowly started moving the fabric of her dress upwards, revealing more and more of the fair skin of her legs and thighs. He knew he should behave, that he should be holding back but this was just too good to be true. She shivered in delight, driving him crazy and moved her hands back to his chest and started to unbutton his shirt with slow and teasing movements. As she let the garment slide off his shoulders, she sat up and started kissing and caressing his body all over. Her lips felt like fire on his skin. He thought he was going to faint at her touch and bit his lip and moaned in pleasure. He composed himself slightly to be able to take this opportunity and unzip her dress and pull it over her head. They kicked off their shoes and she pulled off his belt as they lay back down. He started trailing kisses down her neck towards her decollete and as he put his arms around her, he carefully unhooked her bra. He gasped at the sight of her soft skin and he took in the image of the beautiful woman lying underneath him, now only wearing her panties. She gave him a sweet smile and teasingly pulled down his pants. He started softly caressing her chest as she pulled him back on top of her.

"Daphne, are you sure you want this?" He asked, his voice ragged and huskily.

"Yes Niles, I want you so badly..." her voice sounded in rapture.

"Ok then..take off your ring...I can't do this if you don't"

She looked at it as if she had forgotten about it and quickly pulled it off and put it on the nightstand.

With that last obstacle out of the way, Niles moved his hand downward, his heart pounding in his chest, and pulled down her last item of clothing. She did the same to him and they lay down together, roaming over each other's bodies wildly. She moved her foot up his calf and they indulged in their closeness until they could both take no more.

They started moving slowly, wanting to savor each moment and feel each move they made. Their troubles where faded from their minds and all they could think about was the fulfillment of each others needs. He loved the feeling of her smooth skin stroking against his. They tangled their hands together and he placed kisses all over her body as he made sweet love to her. Her delicate fingers softly caressed his body all over, slowly discovering the lover behind this man that loved her so deeply. He was intoxicated by her scent, by her closeness and by her featherlight touches. Her lips where so soft and hot and her body..dear God. He could feel her hands gripping his shoulders tightly as their passion mounted. Their movements became more demanding and they could feel the intense passion, the fire, grow between them. He kissed her with all the ardor, desire and love he kept bottled up for all these years, to which she responded eagerly. She bit his shoulder and caressed his back, moving her hands downward until she squeezed his butt firmly, pulling him closer, which made her arch in delight. They relished in each others fervent touches as they moved franticly towards a state of ecstasy. She screamed out his name in pleasure, digging her nails into his flesh and sending him off to heaven. He saw the room go blurry as his strength was drained from him and he collapsed on top of her.

They lay in bed, curled up close together. That was it. The damage had been done. Niles knew that he had violated his ethics deeply to be able to do the thing he had always wanted to do: To be with Daphne. And as she lay next to him, all she could think about was the cruelty, that adultery could be so incredibly delicious. As they looked at each other, they both thought the same thing. For the first time in these tumultuous three days, they felt like they had truly committed a crime. And it had felt so good. So what more damage would it do, to do it again? Now that they had both given in, they had the whole night ahead of them.

They looked at each other, as if shocked. Niles softly stroked her bare hip and smiled at her reassuringly. "you are the most beautiful woman in the world." he whispered sweetly and with that, he pulled her to him for a long and loving kiss. Before long, they felt the desire between them build up once again. All they wanted was to express their love through all 5 senses and to feel each other, over and over again. They made love all night long, showing one another all the corners of the bed until they collapsed as the first beams of sunlight announced the arrival of the next day.

They lay tangled together, bathing in sweat, breathless and exhausted. The scorching heat of the city in late july was already protruding through the window. Their skin sticked together and Niles could feel beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. Daphne could hear both their hearts pounding as she lay her head on his chest. The first beams of sunlight where shining through the curtains and as the city sunset reached their used up bodies, it made their wet skin glisten. Their thoughts where gone, all their energy was drained and for a while, they just looked at each other in amazement. They let the sunset wash over them, warming their skin as they waited for their breathing to return to normal. He then took a strain of hair that clung to her face, tucked behind her ear and placed a soft kiss on her forehead and lips. She smiled.

"I love you." he whispered.

"I love you too" she replied and they hugged each other in silence once again.

"I was right, you know. That night on the rooftop..." Daphne said lazily after a while.

"Right about what?"

"That you are a good lover. In fact, you are the best lover I've ever had." She answered, smiling.

"I am?" He chuckled "Thank you Daphne. But I suppose you deserve some of the credit too. You're a Goddess, you set me on fire, my love. I am glad to hear I seem to have pleased you."

"Well, yes you sure did. I was quite enjoying meself. Wasn't it obvious?" she teased.

"I suppose. I remember thinking by myself: "she must either be enjoying herself, or she's really good at faking it"" he joked. They both laughed at that.

"I don't want to get up. I want to lay in this bed, in this ridiculously balmy room with you forever. Do you think we could do that?"Daphne yawned

"I wish we could, love. But the sun is coming up and I am pretty sure Donny will know you are here this time."

This comment slowly sent Daphne back to reality. "Oh my God. I have cheated on me husband, haven't I?" she said as if she had just realized it.

"Yes, you sure have. And more than once too, so you can't say it was an accident, that you tripped and fell on my..you know. And I have cheated on my wife, even though I'm not sure if it counts for me..." he deadpanned, in an attempt to lighten up the conversation, but Daphne looked at him sadly. "We have gotten ourselves into quite a mess, haven't we?" he sighed eventually.

"We sure have..." she sighed back "I feel...dirty" This comment made Niles stir and look at her in disbelief. "Don't worry, I didn't mean it in a bad way" she flirted, concluding: "I'm not sorry about what happened"

"Well, as much as the thought of being your dirty little secret appeals to me, I think we should clear this up."

"I know I should speak to him.. we need to get this over with. I can't believe this mess we're in... I wish we could be together, Niles. Really together. I'm not sure how I should put this.."

"Well, explaining where you've been all night could be a good start."

"Oh dear.. I don't think I can.. I mean, how would he react to the fact that I just spent the night with another man, you of all people and that I love him more than I love Donny? … This secret thing suddenly starts appealing to me more and more. You could be my forbidden lover and nobody would ever have to know about our passionate affair... It would be one of these fairytale stories I'll tell to me grandchildren..." she said dreamily

"Daphne, stop. I don't want to have an affair with a married woman. It's against my ethics and I want you to be mine and mine alone...I want those grandchildren to be mine too. And what do you think Donny will do if he does find out? You have to talk to him. It won't be pretty.. but you'll never know if you don't try it. And you'll never know how we'd be as a couple..." he pleaded, holding her hands.

"You are right...Bloody hell this is difficult. What an awful mess."

"I know but...you are hurting me, being so insecure. I've spend the last seven years yearning for you and I'm not ready to let you go already. What else do you want me to do to convince you we belong together? Do you really want to jeopardize what we have?"

"Niles...I don't want to hurt you but I've never broken up with someone before. I don't know how to, I don't know if I can find the strength"

"Well, I sincerely hope you will. I could help you. I'll do anything just to be with you. I hope that you will come back to me, but.. if you can't go through with it and you decide to stay with Donny, I don't think we should meet again."

"Niles, please don't do this to me" she pleaded as her eyes filled with tears

"You know very well that we can't continue this affair if you stay with Donny. I don't want to sneak around, I've been hiding my feelings for far too long already. If you can't break up with Donny, no matter how much it'll hurt me, we should stop seeing eachother."

"I suppose so, but..." she tried as tears rolled down her cheeks

"Maybe you should leave now, think this through and see him before things get even more out of hand." he sighed

After a short silence, she began to stir and sat up right. "I agree..I should go...I should think..and..Oh God, I need to get the morning after pill...I need to get clean clothes... Oh dear, so many things I need to decide.." she said, slightly panicking as she got up and looked for her clothes that where scattered across the floor. She continued to panic as she got dressed and Niles sat up and looked at her sadly. "Do you want me to go with you?" he asked

"No Niles" she sighed "As difficult as this is, I need to do this alone." He sighed at her comment, hoping it would turn out for the better for them. She walked over, gave him a light kiss and exited the room, closing the door behind her.

Niles fell back on the bed and buried his head in the sheets that where still filled with her scent.


	14. Chapter 14: This is love

Niles stood on the top of his hotel building, watching the sun rise, letting the cool morning breeze cool down his body and thought about what happened in the last hours. After Daphne had left, he couldn't catch his sleep anymore and he had put his pants back on and taken the elevator to the rooftop. He couldn't believe what happened... he couldn't believe she loved him, and he had never been so confused, so frightened before in his life. He felt inside his pocket and remembered another thing he wanted to do up here. He extracted his wedding ring and held it in his hand. He thought about the night his marriage to Maris had ended for good and he had stood on the balcony with his father and brother. He had thrown his ring off the Elliot Bay Towers and even though it had damaged his own Mercedes that was parked on the street, he had felt liberated.

He looked at the ring that he had bought with Mel and couldn't help but wish that Daphne was with him to complete his ritual. This ring had brought him nothing but misfortune, and he would only be glad to get rid of it. As he closed his hand around it and threw it off the rooftop, he whispered:

"Goodbye, Mel"

As he stood there, standing on the railing and looking out over the city that was slowly awakening beneath him, he felt a familiar presence and smelled a hint of cherry bark and almonds in the air.

"What are you doing here?" He asked and he could hear her walk up to him from behind.

"I couldn't go back...I came here to think. I was hoping you would turn up sooner or later...Rooftops will always remind me of you, you know? How did you know I was here?"

"I didn't" he said, still not turning around. "I could smell you."

"You can? Oh well, remind me to take a shower then. You know, it's partly your fault that.."

"I meant it as a compliment. I love the way you smell. Whenever you are not looking, I sneak up behind you and secretly smell your hair, did you know that?"

"I didn't, but I'm beginning to develop a similar habit meself" she said, now standing right behind him and taking in his scent. He smiled at this. She then moved beside him, taking her hand in his and together, they watched over the city.

"Daphne.." he said after some time, still looking ahead of him. "why can't you decide what you want?"

"I want you Niles, I'll always want you. But I don't know if I can leave Donny." she answered sadly.

"Even though it upsets me to even think about it...I wouldn't want you to turn your life around in a 180 degree twist, unless you really want to." he said.

"If I stay with you, it won't be a 180 degree twist. More like a 90. Or even 45...I've been thinking of it for a very long time"

"So why the hell do you stay with him if you where uncertain about your marriage to begin with..."

"Because I've made my bed and now I have to lay in it"

"Can I lay in it?" he asked, half jokingly

"Can I get back to you about that?" she smirked

Niles finally turned to face her. He smiled sadly. "It's not funny. Seriously, why can't you leave him? Do you really have to stick with all the bad mistakes you have made in your life? Mel was a mistake, I told you that. I could crawl back to her and try and patch things up, but I decided it would make things worse. I'm filing for divorce as soon as I get back to Seattle. Because I don't love her, I love you, and it's no use pretending any longer. People make mistakes. So what are you afraid of? That you'll hurt him? Because I'm sure you will, but you'll hurt him more if you stay with him, pretending you love him. So what else? Are you afraid that he'll sue you? Because he might do that either way, he's a lawyer and in case you haven't noticed, he must know by now that something is going on between us. Feeling intimidated is a wrong reason to stay with someone and you should know that. Don't do this to me, don't do this to us! Let me love you, and I will do anything in my power to help you, I swear. I will always be by your side"

They stood facing each other, looking at one another intensely. Daphne stayed quiet.

"And one more thing: You said yourself that you love me more than you love Donny. Whenever I see you, my heart screams that you are the true love of my life. I truly believe that we belong together. I've waited for you to realize this for the last seven years. When I try to imagine my own future, all I see is you. Last night was the best night of my life, but it will always leave a bitter taste if you leave me now. I thought I had finally won you over. So why are you resisting? The only person you are truly hurting is yourself right now, and you are taking me down with you. What kind of masochist are you? Aren't we supposed to marry the person we love the most? Follow your heart, Daphne..."

His last sentence came out like a desperate plea, like one last attempt to reach her. She looked at him with big eyes and her jaw dropped open in awe. It was so logical, and suddenly it all made sense. Niles had just spoken the words that would be the most important thing she would ever hear, words that would change her life forever.

"wow.." she replied, dumbstruck. "You really are a good psychiatrist" and with that, she fell into his arms. He held her tightly, reluctant to let go.

"Does this mean...You're staying?"

"Yes it does.." she answered with tears in her eyes. "I love you, Niles Crane, and I want to be yours forever. I'll divorce Donny. No more running, I swear."

Niles thought that his heart was going to beat out of his ribcage. He had never been this happy in his entire life. He held her, feeling like a king. For the first time in his life, he felt completely and utterly content.

When they slowly parted from the embrace they where in, Niles realized something. It was quite windy up here.

"Daphne...it's 7AM and you are standing on the rooftop of a 25 story building...wearing THAT? You must be freezing..."

"Oh, right. You should be talking, coming out here without as much as a shirt..."

"The heat that my love for you radiates burns with the heat of a thousand suns" He smiled "But I suppose it is time to go back inside. We could sleep for a little while if you feel like it, and then we can go over to Donny's together before I have to go to the congress, to which you are welcome to join me as my date."

She smiled. "I'd love that" and they turned around and headed back to the elevator. Suddenly, she held back.

"Wait.. there's one more thing I have to do." and she walked back towards the railing. Looking over the edge, she took her wedding ring off, looked at it for a few moments, and threw it off the roof.

"Goodbye, Donny"

And with that she turned around and ran towards Niles' welcoming arms and they kissed each other tenderly and headed back inside. Back in the hotel room, they collapsed on the bed and fell asleep in each others comforting embrace, convinced that everything would turn out alright for them.

They woke up early in the afternoon as Niles' alarm-clock went off. As Niles padded into the bathroom to freshen up, Daphne looked at him in awe. She was in love, for the first time in her life she was truly in love. She sat on the edge of the bed and was completely content in watching him undress. She wanted to learn all about his little rituals, because from now on, she'd be part of them.

"Aren't you going to join me?" He asked as he pulled down his boxers.

She still had her eyes fixed on him. "I'll be there in a minute, love.." she said, absentmindedly.

"You know I kind of making me feel like an animal in the zoo with you staring at me like that.." he smirked

"Oh, I'm sorry I was just telling meself you look even more gorgeous naked than you do with your clothes on.." She said flirtatiously. And with that, she got up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom. She undressed as he turned on the faucet and as she joined him in the shower, she pulled him into a long and passionate kiss.


	15. Chapter 15: Pandemonium 16: Epilogue

_A/N:I meant to publish the last chapter and the epilogue separately, but I forgot there was a 15 chapter limit. So here they are, the last chapter AND the epilogue, and that's the end of the damn story. Thanks for sticking around and finishing it and all the nice reviews! (PS: I'd still like to know what you thought of the whole thing :) )_

The talk with Donny didn't go half bad, considering the circumstances. Niles had stayed in the taxi, as Daphne had requested, but he had bought them both a new mobile phone so she could call him immediately from the hotel if anything wouldn't go as planned. In the process, he had also bought her a new dress for the congress, just because she liked it and it looked good on her. He felt bad about leaving her with Donny like that, but he also realized that this was a fear she had to conquer on her own. Come to think of it, he had never really broken up with someone either. Technically, Mel was the one that dumped him and with Maris he was forced because she cheated on him. And yes, there was Kit, but that didn't really count as a relationship now, did it? Either way, he understood why Daphne had been dreading this moment for so long.

She had arrived back at the car after half an hour, holding a large flowered suitcase and looking dumbstruck and confused. Niles stepped out and held the door for her, being the gentleman that he always was and put her suitcase in the back. As soon as she sat down and the car started moving, she burst into tears. Niles quickly reacted by hugging her.

"Don't cry my love" he said reassuringly "I'm so proud of you" She sighed deeply and broke the hug, smiling at him lovingly as she wiped away her tears. As soon as she had composed herself, she started telling him what had happened.

"When I stepped into the hotel room, he immediately ran over to me, saying he was worried and he was wondering where I had been. He hugged me, and I couldn't answer his question. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to say it, but then he looked at me and as I averted my eyes, he guessed it himself. "You where with Niles again, weren't you?" he had asked. I nodded. "You know, it wouldn't harm you to leave a note when you go out drinking with your friends..." he tried, but I could hear by the sound of his voice that he suspected there was more going on here. As I looked up to him sadly, he concluded: "You didn't go out drinking, did you?" I shook my head. "Did you sleep with him?" I averted my eyes once again, and after a terrible silence, I nodded. I expected him to get really angry at me, to yell at me and slap me in the face. But he didn't. He focussed all his anger on you, telling me how he was appalled by your behavior, that you took advantage of a vulnerable woman like me, that you weren't the person you pretended to be and that you used me just to make you feel good about yourself. It seemed that Mel's lies had finally got hold of him. That's when I got really angry, and it all came gushing out. I told him that he was indoctrinated by Mel's ridiculous lies, and I couldn't even be bothered to let him down easy. I yelled at him, telling him that I was nowhere from vulnerable, that I let it happen meself and that I wasn't sorry, that you where a wonderful person who'd take care of me and that I loved you. He was shocked by this statement, and even more shocked when I told him I wanted a divorce. He suddenly pointed his anger at me, telling me to "Get the hell out, you filthy slut!" So I told him I was glad to, grabbed my suitcase and took off, slamming the door behind me."

Niles hugged her. "I'm so proud of you" he said again, later adding: "So... does this mean I can call you my girlfriend now?"

She smiled. "Well, yes, I suppose it does"

"Good" he said, smiling. "And remind me to get back to Donny about that remark he made. Nobody calls my girlfriend a slut."

And with that, the driver pulled up in front of the congress-hall. Niles payed him and helped Daphne with her suitcase. After dropping it off in the lobby, they entered the hall together.

The turnout of the congress was very good. The place was packed with renowned psychiatrists, students and press from all over the world and even some of the couples that Niles had studied for his research had made an appearance. Niles however, was looking for one psychiatrist in particular. As they walked to their seats, they where greeted by the smiling faces of Frasier, Martin and Roz.

"What the... what the hell is this? Frasier... I thought you where flying in alone?" Niles commented, clearly surprised by the presence of his father and friend.

"I was, but after your little meddling with justice I decided you could use some more support.. So I pulled some strings and they got me 2 extra tickets" he replied.

"I'm only here for the free liquor" Roz added dryly.

"Well, what a pleasant surprise..." Said Niles and he and Daphne hugged them all before they sat down.

"So..." said Martin, sounding proud and excited "Tell me what's been going on between you two rascals, because I sure haven't seen my son smile like that in a long time"

"uhm, yes well... something... happened... and I believe we are sort of dating now," Niles anwered with a smile from ear to ear "but we're both still married so I'm not sure this is the appropriate time to discuss it.."

"I'm sure we can talk about it over dinner after the congress.. but for now, let me say I'm happy for the both of you" Martin said, giving Niles a pat on the shoulder.

Daphne, who was seated next to Roz, started whispering something in her ear, who in her return let her eyes lit up and gave an eager smile. It was taking her a while to tell the whole thing and Roz listened to it eagerly. After Daphne had finished, Roz turned to Niles and said:

"Wow Niles, you horny little devil, I never imagined you where capable of that!"

Niles looked from Daphne to Roz in horror and Martin rolled his eyes. "Oh, jeez! I'm not sure I want to hear this...(turning around) "Waiter! Waiter! A beer please and... make it three!"

"Adultery, Niles? Really? So you just threw your ethics aside and dove right into it so you could add that to your recent chain of innumerable missteps? Well, I'm appalled..." Frasier started his lecture. Niles just stared at him with a dreamy smile on his face.

"Oh, put a sock in it Dr. Crane...I know this isn't something I should be proud of, but he was worth the lawsuit." Daphne interrupted

And with that, his smile broadened and he stood up in a daze to take the stage.

Niles' speech was received with a loud applause and as he stood behind the soapbox on stage, he was smiling from ear to ear. The presenter of the congress came up to the microphone and said: "Perhaps Dr. Crane would like to take some questions from the audience"

One reporter immediately responded to this request. "Kent Brockman, Seattle Times. Would you say that your studies helped you, as a recently separated man, cope with another failed marriage?"

"I'm not sure it would be appropriate to get my personal life involved in this, but I'd have to say yes. People aren't perfect and they can misjudge their partners. Maintaining a good relationship is very hard work for everyone. Matches that seem perfect turn out not to be and love isn't logical and easy to understand. I think I've learned that now.."

"What would you say to people, wether or not they are on the autistic spectrum, that are struggling with their relationship?"

"I'd say... and I'm sounding more and more like my brother here...to, on the first place, follow their hearts."

"That's a beautiful statement Dr. Crane... where you yourself able to follow your heart and could you give a statement about that to your wife?"

"Excuse me? That is highly personal and inappropriate, and... Oh whatever. Yes. I was. I followed my heart and right now, I feel like the happiest man in the world" He said, giving Daphne a smile. "And to my wife...I would say Mel, you lying corrupting harpee, I want a divorce!"

Suddenly, a woman dressed in all black with sunglasses on stood up in the last row.

"You got it mister!"

"MEL!" said the entire Crane family in unison. "What the hell is she doing here?" yelled Frasier

"Well, I suppose I heard about my husband's downfall and I wanted to support him and be there for him at this great event. But apparently, he doesn't want me anymore.." she sneered.

"Oh, put a sock in it Mel! I've seen what you've been writing about my brother so I suppose you came over here and ruin this event for him and embarrass him even further. Well I won't let you. You have been spreading nothing but lies!"

"Well, what about Niles? He's been lying to me about his sexuality..."

"Shut up Mel! I'm not gay!" yelled Niles from the stage.

"Oh, you're not? Didn't you just admit that you where happy to that reporter over there, and that you wanted to divorce me? With that basically confirming the news about you of this last week?"

"I didn't confirm anything, if you would let me finish, I was just about to say I'm in love with.."

"Am I the only one that wants to punch that woman in the face?" deadpanned Roz, glancing at Daphne.

"No, you're not. I'm starting to feel like it more and more meself.."

"So? What are we waiting for? Let's make her shut up!"

The two women stood up, but as they where preparing their attack, another voice was heard from the back of the audience. "Oh my God, I can't believe you would cheat one woman like that, but two? I didn't know you where such an ass Doc"

The Cranes, Roz and Daphne suddenly looked towards the entrance in shock, and there was Donny. Just as Niles thought the situation couldn't get any worse, it did.

"You slept with my wife, you slithering slime bag... How could you?"

Niles just stood there, glued to the stage, staring from Mel to Donny. "Donny... as much as my brother's actions must have hurt you.. I don't think it's appropriate to point fingers at him like this" Tried Frasier in an attempt to save the situation.

"Oh well I think that Donny has every right to be upset if your brother sleeps with his wife in one last attempt to deny his sexuality.." interrupted Mel

"Well doc, I sure hope she is lying, because even though Daphne humiliated me in the worst way possible, I wouldn't want her to become a victim of his denial of his latent homosexuality...She told me she's leaving me for him...that she LOVES him!"

"And HE loves HER! Please, Donny, be reasonable here... you know just as well as me that you are hurt and my brother is not gay..people, listen to me. These people love eachother. For seven years I've been the witness of my brother's constant struggle to win over the heart of this woman..."

People in the venue where getting nervous and all around, people where asking questions: "Who loves who?" "I don't get it..." "I thought Dr. Crane was married seven years ago..." "Well, he does look kind of feminine..."

"...and even though I don't approve of the way it happened" Frasier continued "I am very happy to see the two of them together. But adultery is a terrible crime, I agree, and especially a psychiatrist should know the emotional damage it will do to..."

"Frasier please, shut up and don't make this situation worse than it already is..." Niles finally interrupted.

"What? I...AM...WOUNDED!" the hall fell quiet. "YOU are asking ME to shut up, while I am trying to HELP?, well, I am..." he started.

Luckily, his lecture was cut short again, this time by the presenter. "Dr. Crane... Why are you not denying this story?"

"Because there is nothing to deny..." he sighed

"So you did sleep with his wife?" he answered, shocked.

"I'm afraid so...And I feel sorry if that hurts him, but I'm not sorry for what I did. I didn't do anything because I'm latent, which my soon-to-be-ex-wife is trying to let you believe. I did it because I love this woman with all my heart, and I wish to spent the rest of my life with her..."

"This woman.. she's not a patient of you now is she? Because you could lose your license..."

"No, she's his brothers' stupid maid! You know how humiliated that makes me feel?" Mel suddenly interrupted.

"Excuse me?" Daphne sneered angrily "I'm a physical therapist and I'm not stupid you rotten fishwife!"

"Oh, is that what they call it these days? So did Niles enjoy last night's session? You WHORE!"

"OK that's it Roz, let's get her!"

The two women jumped up from their chairs and ran towards Mel. It took her a few seconds to realize who they where aiming for and when she realized it was her, an ear-penetrating, high pitched screech cut through the unconformable silence in the congress hall. Mel jumped up from her chair and headed for the door, but Roz and Daphne where faster. The sound of people running in high heals echoed through the hall and as Roz and Daphne caught up with Mel, Daphne tripped her, and the sound of her falling flat on her face filled the entire hall. More people looked up in shock and started buzzing around while Roz was now hitting Mel with her purse and Niles, who was still standing on the stage, couldn't help but smile at the sight of this crazy scene. He looked over to his father and brother, who where also suppressing their laughs.

Because Niles was distracted by the spectacle caused by the three women, he didn't pay attention to Donny, who was now marching angrily towards the stage. Suddenly, he felt a dull pain hitting his jaw as Donny had came up towards his side and punched him in the face.

"That was a very stupid thing of you to admit!" Donny yelled angrily

Niles bent over in pain, but immediately felt his courage return. "Why? What are you going to do about it?"

"Well, for starters, THIS!" Donny yelled as he took the opportunity to punch Niles in the face again, causing him to fall to the floor before he could fully comprehend what was going on. "And then I am going to sue your ass off!" Frasier got up and ran towards the stage. Niles was lying on the floor, covering his face in pain and trying to get back up "Do you have anything more to say?" Donny yelled as he grabbed Niles' feet and dragged him across the stage.

"Yes!" he yelled back, clearly out of breath. "Daphne, will you marry me?"

Daphne, who was now sitting on top of Mel, who tried to pull Roz' hair, suddenly jumped up. "What did you say?"

"I said, will you marry me!" As soon as he'd spoken the words, Donny jumped on top of him in a fit of rage, causing Niles to scream in terror and he was followed by Frasier in a failed attempt to keep the two apart. And as Niles was stuck underneath a three men pile-up Daphne started running towards him. Mel, who was suddenly free, took this opportunity to finally pull Roz' hair, who screamed out in pain but immediately responded by kicking her against her shin with a stiletto heal.

"Yes, yes, of course I will!" Daphne screamed on top of her lungs to be heard over the pandemonium.

"I love you!" Niles yelled back, still underneath Donny and Frasier who was trying to pull them apart.

"Are you crying? I didn't know you where such a wuss, I'm just getting started!" sneered Donny, but Niles didn't listen anymore. He was blissfully happy and he didn't care that he was getting beaten up.

Just as Daphne approached Niles, wanting to grab his hand, the doors where kicked open and dozens of policemen and -women surged into the congress-room. They rushed towards the two groups of people fighting. Martin, who was standing upright, looked at the bizarre spectacle in awe as Niles, Donny, Frasier, Roz, Daphne and Mel where all taken into custody.

Since this was an important national meeting, a couple of the countries brightest Psychology students where invited to visit the event. One of these students, a young man who looked like a younger version of the Crane brothers, had been on the first row with his videocamera, videotaping the entire event and apparently not stopping when hell broke loose.

Niles passed the student as the taken by authorities.

"You...videotaped the whole thing?"

"Yes... but don't worry, I won't publish it... I will however hold on to it until the internet gets fast enough to stream High Definition video...When there's a video streaming website with enough capacity, people will love to watch this..."

"Oh, the internet? That slow medium? That will never happen for sure... carry on then!"

"By the way, I am a big admirer of your work, Dr. Crane."

"Thank you!" And he gave the student a smile and a nod of approval as police took him away.

Donny and Mel where taken away into a separate police car while yelling obscenities across the street. Daphne and Roz had to share the backseat of another car and the police lead Frasier and Niles towards a third. Frasier was already inside the car when Martin caught up with Niles.

"Look, son...I know things are looking bad right now and you have done some things I'm not very proud of, but you're a good kid and I'll do my best to get you all out as soon as possible..."

In another car, Roz was trying to cheer up a gaunt looking Daphne."So we got arrested. So did they! So yeah, maybe Niles has a bit of a head start because this is the third time this week, but he has a good reputation... or at least he used to before Mel came along...And so you committed adultery and admitted it in front of your husband and a conference room full of psychiatrists and press...what I'm saying is, You'll get over it. And you have Niles to support you, even though you probably end up needing to support him..anyway, I know people who can make your problems all go away..."

"Oh, please Roz, we are in enough trouble as it is. The last thing we need is to get the Mafia involved.."

"Who said anything about Mafia? Jeez Daphne, you have to give me some credit..I'm talking about lawyers. Big, powerful lawyers. They can twist a story in such a way for you to even get away with murder..."

"Oh, right. And how are we supposed to find a lawyer this fast that can take on Donny, Mel and the state of New York? And how are we supposed to afford it?"

"Let's just say Donny isn't the only lawyer I've dated..."

**EPILOGUE**

Thanks to Martins efforts and connections, everyone was released on the same day, though Donny, Roz, Daphne and Mel where served with a big fine for disturbance of the peace. Niles and Frasier where off the hook since Martin had testified they where acting in self defense, but Niles had yet to face his trial for the other charges that where made against him.

Roz and Martin had to fly back to Seattle after a few days, but Frasier stayed in New York to support his brother and Daphne was testifying to prove his innocence. For some reason, she had been able to get hold of one of the best lawyers in the state of New York to defend Niles and he had also agreed to defend them in both their divorce cases back in Seattle, as long as Niles would pay for all the expenses. It sure was expensive, but worth every nickle since he figured this might save him a lot of money in the settlement and since this lawyer was one of the few people in the entire country that could win from Donny in a divorce case.

Frasier let out a big cheer in the courthouse as Niles was found innocent and all the charges where dropped. He was now free to go back to Seattle and Daphne ran towards him from the witness stand to embrace him. The pair shared a tender kiss and as they broke apart, Niles looked to his side and saw his brother smiling at him. Frasier put his hand on Niles' shoulder and the brothers shared a friendly hug. "Congratulations, brother. I'm happy for you both." He said proudly "Well, come on, let's get you to the airport. One down, two to go!"

Niles and Daphne are walking on the streets of Seattle. They are holding hands as they enter the courthouse.

"So Daphne" Asks Niles "How the hell did you manage to get this lawyer? I know he's pretty much the only chance we have on beating both of them, but everyone knows he's booked for months and doesn't accept new clients. How'd you get him? Was it Frasier?"

"Well..."

"But I mean, he might be a local celebrity, but he's not THAT well connected, how was he able to get..."

They look at each other and as she wants to answer him, he thinks of the answer himself. "ROZ!" They say in unison.

They walk towards a big, wooden door. Above it are the words "DIVORCE COURT" Before they enter, they stop for a second.

"So, what are you going to do if we win these cases?"asks Daphne

"Well, for starters, I'm going to buy you an engagement ring and yell off the rooftop that you are going to be my wife."

"Sounds like a plan.."she says, smiling. "What kind of ring?"

"That's a surprise. One that will suit you for sure. And I won't tell you when or where I'm going to give it to you either." he answers teasingly. "And then we are going someplace nice to celebrate our victory. And our engagement, of course.." he flirts.

"Well, Dr. Crane, that sounds even better." she says, flirting back and stroking his hair "what kind of place will this be then?"

"That's a surprise too..." he teases "But I'll make sure we will like it both."

"Ah. It's not New York now is it?" she asks

"As much as I've grown to love that place, I'll say we steer clear of its temptations for once and go someplace quiet. That way we will have all the time in the world to spend together and we won't get distracted by silly things like muggers, drugs, policemen, husbands and wives... "

"Sounds lovely..." she answers amorously and pulls him into a passionate kiss. As the kiss breaks, they smile at eachother and Niles grabs Daphne's hand.

"Shall we go?"

And with that, the pair enters the courtroom.

the end


End file.
